The Many Benefits of WWID Membership

Welcome to the ISA water/wastewater industry division!  Division membership is one of the major benefits of belonging to the ISA.  Membership has its privileges, and it's not just your ISA wallet card!

Did you know that many folks who belong to the ISA water/wastewater division don’t realize that there is more to the ISA other than the wall plaque and the magazine?  I used to be one of those people.  In fact, I was a member of the ISA for almost 10 years before I started to really use the benefits of the ISA and the WWID.   Sure, just listing your ISA WWID membership on your resume looks good, but there is so much more you can get out of the organization.

One of the most useful benefits of membership is the opportunity to meet other people in your discipline and sector.  Unless you are part of a large engineering firm or large plant, it is unusual for more than a few automation professionals to work in a department.  I used to be at a firm like that—I worked with a lot of great people, but there really wasn’t anyone to talk to if I got stuck on an automation issue.  This is where contacts you make through WWID can come in handy. 

Through the WWID email mailing list, Linked-In discussion group and symposiums, you can make the contacts that can help you in your job.  Stuck on a problem? Send out an email on the discussion list, you’ll be amazed how often other fellow professionals want to help and share their knowledge. Looking for new ideas? Subscribe to the mailing lists and read our publications, you’ll be surprised on the new techniques you’ll discover and the people you will meet.  At the end of the day, we can have as much technology as we want but it is the personal connections and sharing of information that helps all of us get the job done.

This brings us to our annual WWAC symposium .  Typically held in August, this conference is unique as it caters specifically to the areas of instrumentation, automation and SCADA systems in the water/wastewater sector.  The automation challenges involved with disinfection, distribution, collection, and treatment of both municipal and industrial water is the focus of this event. It is only through the WWID that a symposium like this can be held. This is also something that you can’t get at WEFTEC, ACE or at the general ISA conferences.  Whether you are presenting a new technology in a talk, or coming just to meet new people and find out what is new, this is a great opportunity to find out information that unique to the challenges of automation in the water/wastewater environment.  It’s also a great way to show to your management that you care about being progressive.  Keep your eyes on our newsletter for information about registration, the call for papers, and the various training opportunities associated with the symposium.  We hope to see you there!

Think of your WWID as icing on your ISA cake.  With your core membership of the ISA you have online access to ISA standards, access to the ISA technical reports library, discounts on ISA publications, the InTech magazine and that shiny membership card that goes in your wallet.  All of these core benefits from the ISA are very useful, but it’s your WWID membership that adds the networking and information sharing opportunities that we all need for our line of work.   Don’t be like me; don’t wait ten years to make the most of your WWID membership! You’ll be amazed about the opportunities that active WWID membership can bring.

Graham Nasby
Director
ISA Water / Wastewater Industry Division