What is NC AWWA-WEA?

Welcome to the web site of the North Carolina American Water Works Association and the North Carolina Water Environment Association (NC AWWA-WEA).  Our Association is a combined organization of volunteers affiliated with the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation.

The NC AWWA-WEA is a volunteer association dedicated to providing water and wastewater education, training, and service in an effort to protect public health and the environment.  We have over 3,000 members in North Carolina representing municipal and private utilities, consulting engineering firms, government agencies, companies who provide equipment and supplies to the industry and representatives of academia who teach and conduct research in water and wastewater-related areas.

We are lucky to have an organization that is able to look at water quality issues from a broad perspective, realizing that water and wastewater issues go beyond the end of the pipe. We strive to fulfill our vision through the work of our committees and the events we organize

Information on this page represents the history of the NC AWWA-WEA.  Any corrections or additions should be forwarded to nbanks@ncsafewater.org so that revisions can be made.  Your input will be greatly appreciated.

 

2000 Archives & History Update

Written By A.T. Rolan

  • The first meeting of the NC Section of AWWA was held in Greensboro on December 9-10, 1921 at the O. Henry Hotel with a recorded attendance of 47.  The lowest attendance ever recorded.  The first joint meeting was in New Bern on November 13-15, 1923 with 130 in attendance.
  • The first officers were: Chairman J. L. Ludlow from Winston-Salem, Vice Chairman J.C. Michie from Durham and Secretary/Treasurer, Thorndike Saville from Chapel Hill.
  • Our Journal contained an error for many years in that it shows the first Secretary/Treasurer of our Association was W. S. Rankin.  There is an interesting explanation.  One of the speakers at the first meeting was Dr. W. S. Rankin, Secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Health not Secretary of NC AWWA.
  • To form a new Section in AWWA required at least 20 members living in NC.  According to McKean Maffitt, there were 22 charter members of NCAWWA in 1922.  The first AWWA Director was W. E. Vest from Charlotte.  The first Journal was published in 1924 and contained the proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of NCAWWA and the first Joint Meeting of what was referred to then as the Water Purification Association, later called the NC Sewage Works Association, North Carolina Water Pollution Control Association  and now North Carolina Water Environment Association.  It is interesting to note that the Water Environment Federation was started in 1928 as the Sewage Works Association, 5 years after NC started meeting as a Joint Organization.  The North Carolina Association was elected to membership in the Federation by the Board of Control on October 16, 1928.   I am not sure who was the first Director, but H.G. Baity was Director in 1933.  There were 50 charter members of the NC Sewage Works Association.
  • Membership recruitment has always been important to NC AWWA-WEA.  In 1924, the North Carolina Section won the AWWA – Nicholas Hill Cup for the third successive year.  The Cup was given to the Section of AWWA having the greatest percentage increase in membership over the previous year.  By winning three years in a row, the Section earned the right to retain the Cup permanently.  According to H.G. Baity in 1940, :We got rather tired of winning that cup, and while we appreciated the honor, we gave it back to the National Association for re-award.”
  • In 1933, McKean Maffit decided to award a cup annually to that member of the NC Section who recruited the greatest number of new members.  In 1947, Mr. W.M. Piatt, presented to the Association a sewage membership attainment cup to be known as the Ludlow Cup, named in memory of J.L. Ludlow, the first President of the NC Association, who died about 1930.  In 1955, the Ludlow Cup was replaced by the W.M. Piatt Membership Award.  Mr. P.D. Davis agreed to pay up to $350 to initially establish the new award.
  • There was no Journal published in 1938, 1939 and 1940.  Volume 14 of the Journal published in 1937 contains the proceedings of the 1936 Meeting and Volume 16 published in 1941 contains the proceedings of the 1940 meeting.There was no volume 15 of the Journal.
  • There was no annual meeting in 1944 at the request of the Office of Defense Transportation.  Although a Journal was published with papers that would have been presented.  Thus, our 74th Conference in 75 years.
  • The Water Taste Test was started in 1985.
  • The Tapping Contest was started in 1987 with Asheville, Fayetteville and Raleigh as the only winners.
  • The NC Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers was started in 1986 in Winston-Salem, NC.  The Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers began in Arizona in 1940.  The purpose of the 5 S organization is to recognize those members who have contributed their time and energy for the betterment of the NC WEA.