Monitoring and Research Seminar Series
The MWRD hosts a seminar series at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant that is open to the public. These seminars are eligible for Professional Development Credits/CEUs.
Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. Picture ID is required for plant entry.
Location:
Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, Lue-Hing R&D Complex
6001 West Pershing Road
Cicero, IL 60804
Time: All seminars start at 10:30 a.m. CST
For additional information, please contact Dr. Heng Zhang, Assistant Director of Monitoring and Research, at 708-588-4264 or 708-588-4059 or email zhangH@mwrd.org.
Upcoming seminars
Seminar Archive
January 27, 2023
Updates on the Biosolids Management Program at the MWRDGC, Ahmad Laban, P.E., Managing Engineer, Maintenance and Operations Department, and Theresa Johnston, Senior Environmental Soil Scientist, Monitoring & Research Department, MWRDGC
February 24, 2023
Converting Rectangular and Circular Primary Tanks into an AAA Settler, Dr. Bernhard Wett, ARAconsult Gmbh, Innsbruck, Austria
March 31, 2023
The 50 Year History of the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), Patrick Jensen, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer, and Brian Wawczak, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, MWRDGC
April 28, 2023
USACE Planning Assistance to States, Chicago River Restoration Framework, Chuck Shea, P.E., PMP Project Manager, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District Office
May 26, 2023
Revolving Algal Biofilm System for Nutrient Removal and Recovery, Dr. Zhiyou Wen, Director, Center for Crops Utilization Research, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
June 30, 2023
Understanding and Embracing Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics, Dr. Kathryn B. Newhart, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York
July 28, 2023
More Than Just Energy Savings: Understanding the Benefits of Low DO Operation Dr. Mark Miller, P.E., Senior Process Engineer, and Don Esping, Process Engineering Lead, Brown and Caldwell, Charlotte, North Carolina
August 25, 2023
Innovative City Adaptations to Climate Change, Dr. Şevin Yildiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Policy, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
September 29, 2023
Relating SARS-CoV-2 RNA Measured in Chicago-area Wastewater Treatment Plant and Cook County COVID-19 Public Health Data, Dr. Niall M. Mangan, Assistant Professor of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
October 27, 2023
Near to Real-Time Flood Forecasting: Towards Digital Twins at Urban Scales
November 17, 2023
Updates on the MWRDGC’s Phosphorus Removal Efforts, Dr. Joseph Kozak, P.E., Principal Environmental Scientist, Environmental Monitoring and Research Division, Monitoring & Research Department, MWRDGC
January 28, 2022
Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19 – A Regional Effort, Rachel Poretsky, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago
February 25, 2022
Regulating the Water Environment at the District and Beyond: A Brief Evolutionary History, Greg Yarnik, Supervising Environmental Specialist, Industrial Waste Division, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRDGC
March 25, 2022
Determination of Watershed Specific Release Rates, Greg Byard, Project Manager, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois
April 29, 2022
Use of Integrated Planning to Facilitate a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Renewal, Rajeev Kapur, Water Resources Program Manager, Clean Water Services, Regulatory Affairs Department, Hillsboro, Oregon
May 27, 2022
Operating the Stickney Water Reclamation Plan to Meet the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Limit for Total Phosphorus, Joseph Kozak, Principal Environmental Scientist, Monitoring and Research Department, and Joseph Cummings, Managing Engineer, Maintenance and Operations Department, Stickney Area, MWRDGC
June 24, 2022
How Are Biosolids Used and Managed in the United States? Results of the Second Comprehensive National Biosolids Survey, Ned Beecher, Special Projects Manager, North East Biosolids and Residuals Association, Tamworth, New Hampshire
July 29, 2022
Infiltration and Inflow Control at the City of Naperville, Tony Conn, Sr., Water Distribution & Collection Manager, Naperville Public Utilities-Water, Naperville, Illinois
August 31, 2022
Sustainable Water Supplies for Semi-arid Cities, Richard G. Luthy, Ph.D., Silas H. Palmer Professor, Department Civil Engineering, and Director, Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure, Stanford University, Stanford, California
September 30, 2022
Side-stream Enhanced Biologic Phosphorus Removal (S2EBPR) Pilot Test at the Calumet Water Reclamation District, Cindy Qin, Senior Environmental Research Scientist, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRDGC
October 28, 2022 - VIRTUAL
Digital Twin Development Implementation and Results for the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Singapore, Bruce R. Johnson, Jacobs, Denver, Colorado
November 18, 2022 - VIRTUAL
Flood Reduction from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Regional Stormwater Projects, Greg Koch, Principal Civil Engineer, Michael Cosme, Senior Civil Engineer, Justin Kirk, Senior Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, MWRDGC
December 9, 2022 - VIRTUAL
Water Quality in the Calumet Waterway System after the Thornton Composite Reservoir Went Online, Dustin Gallagher, Associate Aquatic Biologist, and Nicholas Kollias, Aquatic Biologist, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRDGC
January 29, 2021
Water Surveillance for COVID-19 – A National Science Foundation Study, Dr. Alexandria Boehm, Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California
February 26, 2021
Predictive Analytics: The Next Steps in Water Resource Recovery Facilities Operation and Optimization, Katya Bilyk, Senior Associate for Hazen and Sawyer, Raleigh, North Carolina
March 26, 2021
Nutrient Recovery Performance and the Optimization of Biological Phosphorus Removal at the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center, Dr. Gayathri Ram Mohan, Department of Water Resources, Gwinnett County Government, Lawrenceville, Georgia
April 30, 2021
Using Watershed-based Permitting Approaches to Address Excess Nutrients, Danielle Stephan, USEPA, Office of Wastewater Management, Water Permits Division, Washington, D.C.
May 28, 2021
Recent Advancements in Granular Activity Sludge Processes, Dr. Belinda Sturm, Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
June 25, 2021
Biochar in Soil and Environmental Applications, Dr. Wei Zheng, Principal Research Scientist/Adjunct Faculty, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
July 30, 2021
Urban Water Management for the 21st Century, Dr. Glen Daigger, Professor of Engineering Practice, University of Michigan Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ann Arbor, Michigan
August 27, 2021
Bloom: Lessons in Biosolids Marketing and Sales, April Thompson, Director of Marketing and Sales, Bloom, Washington, D.C.
September 24, 2021
SUSTAINABILITY: Still Relevant or a Paradigm in Crisis, Dr. Kuldip Kumar, Principal Environmental Scientist, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
October 29, 2021
Best Practices in Kinetic Rate Testing and Data Interpretation to Measure EBPR Health – A Water Research Foundation Study, Dr. Leon Downing (presenter), and Patrick Dunlap, Black and Veatch, and Dr. April Gu, Cornell University.
November 19, 2021
Planning for Regional Climate Change Impacts, Dr. Thomas A. Wall, Senior Infrastructure & Preparedness Analyst, Argonne National
Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois
December 10, 2021
An Update on the Five Years of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, Trevor Sample, IEPA Coordinator on the Illinois NLRS Steering Committee, Springfield, Illinois
January 24, 2020
Pursuit of Energy Neutrality at the Downers Grove Sanitary District, Nick Menninga, General Manager, Downers Grove Sanitary District, Downers Grove, Illinois
February 21, 2020
Update on the District’s Stormwater Management Program, Joseph Kratzer, Managing Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
September 25, 2020
The Response of Microbial Communities in the Chicago Area Waterway to Major Infrastructure Changes in the Region, Dr. Cristina Negri, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois, and Dr. Jack Gilbert, Professor, University of California, San Diego, California
October 30, 2020
Advances in Kinetics, Mechanisms, and Detection of Viral Pathogens toward Developing Smart Water Disinfection Systems, Benito J. Mariñas, Ph.D., Ivan Racheff Endowed Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
November 20, 2020
Leading Water and Wastewater Utility Innovation, Jason Carter, Water Strategy and Innovation Leader, Arcadis, Birmingham, Alabama
December 11, 2020
Fox River Water Reclamation District’s Efforts on Reducing Phosphorus Discharge Load, Beth Vogt, P.E., Technical Services Director, Fox River Water Reclamation District, South Elgin, Illinois
January 25, 2019
The Development, Implementation, and Recent Progress of the Fulton County Nutrient Loss Reduction Program Under the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, Guanglong Tian, Ph.D., Principal Environmental Scientist, Monitoring and Research Department, Environmental Monitoring and Research Division, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
February 22, 2019
Lessons Learned on Erosion Control in Shoreline Restoration, Robert J. Kirschner, Director of Restoration Ecology, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois
March 29, 2019
Green Infrastructure Implementation at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, James Yurik, Principal Civil Engineer, and John Watson, Associate Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, Stormwater Management Section, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
April 26, 2019
Operating a Membrane Facility for Decades at the Orange County Water District and Groundwater Replenishment System, Michael R. Markus, P.E., D.WRE, BCEE, F.ASCE, General Manager, Orange County Water District, Fountain Valley, California
May 31, 2019
Taking Ammonia-Based Aeration Control to the Next Level, Wendy Anderson, Senior Engineer, Technology & Innovation Division, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Denver, Colorado
June 28, 2019
Biosolids Market Analysis for a Strategic Long-Term Biosolids Management Program at Charlotte Water, Irene Teshamulwa Okioga (Tesha) P.E., Ph.D., LEED AP, ENV SP, Senior Engineering Project Manager, Charlotte Water, Charlotte, North Carolina
July 26, 2019
Assessing the Impacts of Return Activated Sludge Fermentation on Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Performance and Associated Microbial Ecology, Erik R. Coats, P.E., Ph.D., Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
August 23, 2019
Challenges of Delivering Drinking Water to the City of New York, Paul V. Rush, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply, New York City, New York
September 20, 2019
Sludge-Fermentation Based Side-Stream Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Enables Sustainable Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal with Carbon/Energy Recovery, April Gu, Ph.D., Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
October 25, 2019
Let the Water Flow: Lessons Learned from the Startup of the new Westside Aerated Grit Facility and Primary Settling Tanks at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, Paul D. O’Brien, P.E. Principal Civil Engineer, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
November 22, 2019
Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal at the Kirie Water Reclamation Plant: A Holistic Workplan with Step-By-Step Implementation to Achieve Treatment Goals with Minimum Infrastructure Investment, Fenghua Yang, P.E., BCEE, Senior Environmental Research Scientist, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
December 13, 2019
Mainstream Short-Cut Biological Nitrogen Removal Coupled with Biological Phosphorus Removal, George Wells, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, McCormick School of Engineering, Evanston, Illinois
January 26, 2018
Water Quality Monitoring in Illinois Rivers, William A. Battaglin, Research Hydrologist, United States Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
Presentation
February 23, 2018
Assessing the Load Reduction of Endocrine Active Compounds After Disinfection at the Terrence J. O’Brien and Calumet Water Reclamation Plants and the Biological Effects on Fish, Dr. Heiko L. Schoenfuss, PhD, Professor of Anatomy, Director, Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota
Presentation
March 23, 2018
Nutrient Trading as A Useful Tool for Nutrient Management at Watershed Scale, Cy Jones, Senior Fellow with the World Resources Institute, Washington D. C.
Presentation
April 27, 2018
Development and Implementation of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s Resource Recovery Ordinance, Gregory Yarnik, Supervising Environmental Specialist, Dr. Joseph Kozak, PhD, PE, Supervising Environmental Research Scientist, and Matthew McGregor, Principal Engineer, MWRDGC, Chicago, Illinois
Presentation
May 25, 2018
Impact of the Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Processes on Digested Sludge Dewatering, Dr. Matthew J. Higgins, Ph.D, Professor, and Claire W. Carlson, Chair in Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Eng., Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Presentation
June 29, 2018
Selection of Thermal Hydrolysis Pretreatment Technology for Anaerobic Digestion at Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District, Ms. Zonetta English, Research Manager and Alex E. Novak, P.E., Treatment Facilities Director, at Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sanitary District, Louisville, Kentucky
Presentation
July 27, 2018
Climate-Resilient Water Management in New York City, Alan Cohn, Managing Director, Integrated Water Management, New York, New York
Presentation
August 24, 2018
Crisis Communication and Management, Jason Hughes, Director, Utility Services (Water), Department of Water Services, DC Water
Presentation
September 14, 2018
Microalgal Bioprocesses for Nutrient Recovery from Wastewater, Dr. Jeremy Guest, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois
Presentation
October 26, 2018
Searching for Life and Habitability in the Solar System, Bobak Ferdowsi, Systems Engineer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Presentation
November 30, 2018
Microplastic in Urban Streams: Abundance, Source, and Microbial Interactions, Timothy Hoellein, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois
Presentation
December 14, 2018
Update on the District's Stormwater Management Program, Joseph Kratzer, Managing Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, MWRDGC, Chicago, Illinois
Presentation