More than 1,500 operations specialists, board members, and managers from rural and municipal water and wastewater utility systems nationwide are headed to Texas in the coming days to learn new skills, network with peers, hear from experts, and meet with vendors and suppliers.

Organization: National Rural Water Association

Conference: 2018 WaterPro Conference

Venue: Fort Worth Convention Center

City: Fort Worth, Texas

After a sporting clays tournament and golf scramble on Sunday, the 2018 WaterPro Conference begins on Monday morning with an opening ceremony featuring Anne Hazlett. The assistant to the secretary for rural development at the USDA will discuss the work the agency is doing to create an environment for rural prosperity. Also on the agenda:

Game time. “Are You Smarter Than a Circuit Rider?” That’s what four teams will find out as they face questions that top industry professionals must answer in their day-to-day work. The winning team will take home $7,000 for the state association they represent.

The robots are coming—but not for jobs. An education lab, “The Future of Automation in the Water Industry,” will outline how the industry can use automation to help deal with aging infrastructure and utilities that are ill-equipped to handle growing demand and tightening regulations.

Cyber awareness. Small and large water utilities across the U.S. have been targeted in cyberattacks, which means attendees must take steps now to reduce the likelihood that they’ll be next. To help with this, NRWA has made cybersecurity one of the conference’s content tracks. Sessions will cover everything from building cyber resilience to responding to a data breach.

Head to Twitter (#WaterPro2018) and Facebook for more details.

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