Monthly Blog

Jasmine Koster is the Laboratory Manager for Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority. She has over 20 years of lab experience spanning indoor air quality, drinking water, and wastewater analyses. She currently serves as the communications director for RMWQAA and proudly publishes the monthly blog/newsletter.

I prefer to think that most lab personnel and any other people/entities that are regulated, especially those that serve in environmental and public health fields want to do the right thing and hold data integrity and ethics in the highest regard. Unfortunately, this does not always seem to be the case and too often we see headlines to the contrary. These are some of the recent headlines posted to Wastewater Digest:

Texas laboratory executives plead guilty in wastewater data falsification case

A CEO of a wastewater testing laboratory, the lab’s director, and another individual admitted to falsifying or helping to falsify data results for a period of ~3 years. They altered wastewater results to conceal exceedances for ammonia, E. coli, and phosphorus to ensure that treatment facilities did not exceed their state and federal permit limits. Now these lab personnel face prison time and up to $250,000 fines.

Georgia wastewater operator indicted over alleged falsified discharge reports

Despite observed visible sewage discharges, reported facility infrastructure issues, and sampling from another entity that showed otherwise; the wastewater plant’s operator submitted discharge monitoring reports to the state and EPA indicating that the treatment plant was operating in compliance. The wastewater operator has been indicted for criminal violations of the Clean Water Act.

Reading stories like this always makes me wonder whether it was worth sacrificing the livelihood and reputation of yourself and those you work with? Not to mention, risking fines, jail time, and lawsuits. In the first instance, you might think, “This looks like a top-down decision. A CEO who is possibly being paid off or trying to save their company from going under. It’s not right, but this type of corruption happens across industries, and it doesn’t really apply to me in my current position.” In the second instance you see what appears to be a single person making bad choices, again possibly trying to save their company, or trying to cover up poor performance of their responsibilities. Again, you might think, “I would never do that, how could they think they would get away with that?”

So, what leads people to committing these types of actions that constitute crimes in some situations?

In recent years, a Colorado lab was in the news when it was discovered that a chemist intentionally altered the data for thousands of water tests and a second chemist at the same lab was found to be manipulating quality control data. In response, the EPA first revoked certification of four methods and during the investigation the EPA revoked or lapsed certifications for eleven other test methods pending full corrective actions. Several people were fired and the lab had to suspend its water testing program.

After completion of investigations and audits, root cause factors included outdated equipment, understaffing, resource constraints, inadequate oversight, and a toxic workplace culture. The lab is now working to restore credibility through outsourcing, modernization, and stronger oversight.

THIS. This story felt different. This story felt more familiar to me and brought up past feelings and memories of previous experiences. I have been there before; high workload, short turn-around times, not enough people, no overtime allowed, instrumentation problems, silos of knowledge and information, lack of communication, feelings of internal and external pressure to get the job done. These feelings often put you at a crossroads—do you do the right thing, no matter what; or maybe just one time you make your job easier. Then maybe one-time turns into many times because the job never gets easier and you are in the same position day after day.

If you ever feel like this or have these thoughts, consider doing the following:

Stop. Take a breath. Consider the long-term outcomes and repercussions if you start down that road of doing the wrong thing. Determine whether you are rationalizing by making excuses for the action you are considering. Are you having thoughts like, “everyone is doing it,” or “this isn’t a big deal, no one will be affected.” If you are still stuck, process the situation through these common ethical considerations.

• Honesty Test: Is your choice truthful and free from deceit?
• Legal Test: Is your choice in compliance with laws, regulations, methods, company policies, etc.?
• Conscience Test: Can you act in good conscience without feeling discomfort? Or think of it as the “mom test,” would your mother approve or be proud of this?”
• Consequences Test: Have you examined all the possible outcomes including unpleasant ones?
• Publicity Test: The “red face test,” will you feel shame or embarrassed if the information becomes public?

There may be instances in which you know something is going on, even if you are not a part of it and you may think, “I’m only one person, what can I do?” If you see something, say something. Depending on the situation, go to your supervisor, manager, or you may even need to go to the regulatory authority. If you do need to report something, the best practices are to be specific (dates, locations, parties involved, evidence) and document everything. CDPHE provides reporting options via online forms or by calling the number for environmental incidents and spills: 1-877-518-5608. Depending on the level of fraudulence or if it involves criminal activity you may want to contact the State Attorney General’s office or the U.S. Dept. of Justice-Environmental Crimes Section.

If you are in the position to make changes in your lab and you see some of the symptoms (like the root causes in the story above) consider implementing or recommending the following to prevent and mitigate possible issues:

• Strong internal controls: Regular audits, segregation of duties, and whistleblower programs help detect and deter fraud. *Even in a small lab, rotating analysts through a test may help bring issues to light.
• Compliance training: Ensuring employees understand legal and ethical standards reduces the risk of unintentional violations.
• Data integrity measures: Implementing secure systems, access controls, and version control can prevent tampering.

It is easy to believe that you would always do the right thing, no matter what the situation; until you are faced with an ethical dilemma and must make a hard decision…only then do you discover your true morals and integrity. As the saying goes, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” 

Sofia Lambert has been with GEI Consultants for over three years, where she focuses on ecotoxicity and environmental health. She holds two undergraduate degrees from Florida Gulf Coast University and is pursuing her M.S. at the University of Colorado-Denver where her research focuses on wildfires, water quality, and ecosystem resilience. She also serves as the Membership Management board member for RMWQAA.

As water professionals, many of us are very aware of Colorado’s ongoing drought. While our laboratories play vital roles in protecting both our natural resources and public health, they can also be a significant source of water consumption. From sample analyses and QC checks to glassware washing, water usage is a part of nearly all our operations. Thankfully, there are many small ways in which water laboratories can reduce water consumption without affecting compliance requirements or the quality of our tests. Below are a few small but simple practices that can be integrated into daily lab operations to conserve water:

1)    Keep water bath lids on when not actively in use. This helps reduce the amount of evaporation, lowering the amount of water added to the water bath to keep it at the appropriate level.

2)    When possible, use tap water instead of deionized or ultra-pure deionized water. Water waste depends on your specific system, but one gallon of ultra-pure deionized water can take 3-6 gallons of excess “wasted” water to make. Review your organization’s protocols for what exactly this may entail.

3)    Optimize glassware washing when possible. Only run autoclaves and glassware washers when they are full and try to optimize space when filling both up. When possible, pre-soak heavily soiled glassware instead of continuously rinsing under running water.

4)    Minimize running water by turning off faucets between rinsing steps whenever allowed or install low-flow faucet aerators in areas where high flow faucets are not necessary.

5)    Check for and fix leaky faucets, DI systems, plumbing connections, etc. Even tiny leaks can waste thousands of gallons over the course of a year.

6)    Review SOPs to ensure efficiency.

7)    If you are purchasing new equipment, aim for water-efficient options.

These small improvements in efficiency can have a large impact over time without compromising data quality and regulatory compliance. Water conservation is most effective when everyone participates. Training laboratory staff on how to conserve water in the lab and sharing ideas for continuous improvement are important parts of this effort. Discuss whatever small changes make the most sense for your lab and keep the conversation going!

Sherry Scaggiari is the Deputy Director of Utilities for the City of Brighton. Her chemistry degree afforded her a start in environmental laboratories first as an analyst, then as a supervisor. She then moved on to water and wastewater utility work and has over 19 years in that area. She gets to teach regularly through the RMWEA Operator Schools, CECTI Distribution and Collections School, internal programs and Action Now. Sherry is the current Chair for SPCURE, and participates in CWUC, LPC, and of course, RMWQAA.

Hello RMWQAA!

If you weren’t at this year’s Symposium you missed a great day of learning and fun! Once we all got checked in and ate our breakfast, we settled in for a couple of presentations. First up was a lab safety talk. It was a good reminder that we all get complacent with respect to safety and sometimes, we need to step back and reevaluate what we are doing and if it’s the best way to do it.

Microplastics have been in the news recently. Testing for them is not easy. Turns out, microplastics are everywhere! We learned 6PPD-Q (6PPD-quinone) is a highly toxic chemical formed when 6PPD—an antioxidant and preservative used in car tires—reacts with ozone in the air. As tires wear down, the residue washes off roads into streams during rainstorms. This is fatal to coho salmon and other aquatic wildlife in extremely small amounts. California has already taken measures to eliminate it from tires.

During the morning break, we went shopping. Or should I say gathering? We got lots of goodies from the various vendors and as an added benefit, learned about products available in our industry.  The vendors generously help us provide this Symposium at a reasonable cost and we appreciate their support. In fact, they also help support the gift card raffle that got us all back to our tables.

The next talk on HABs (harmful algal blooms) was structured in a unique way. First, we had some intro information via the normal PowerPoint but then we visited two different vendors who did live demonstrations on how to test for various algal concerns. Doing things hands on always helps us learn more.

We rounded out the morning with the annual business meeting. There are so many things happening with RMWQAA! If you want to know more, please visit the updated website. Speaking of new – we have a new logo. This logo is much easier to print. Speaking of printing, we all got hoodies with the new log on them! They are very nice and a great way to show off that we belong. I’m sure there will be more swag with this new logo. Do you know how many logos RMWQAA has had? If you do, you would have been good at the trivia contest where not only were gift cards awarded, but major bragging rights goes to Augustin Yu of Weld County, who won! And speaking of winning, The Analyst of the year goes to…Sydney Duval, Water Quality Scientist with the City of Loveland Utilities, who was nominated for her excellent contributions made during her short time working there.

We had lunch, had great conversations and generally caught up with each other. This is a favorite part of this Symposium for many people. This networking is extremely valuable. If you have a challenge in your lab, knowing there are others out there who can help is amazing.

Did you know your poop can talk? Well, lab speak anyway. The wastewater surveillance program that was started during Covid, is still going on. I remember during covid, we could see the trend lines going up and then sure enough, a few days later, the news would report cases were up. Now, things like measles are being tracked and the same holds true. Data doesn’t lie! Isn’t that just the coolest? The job you all are doing as analysts results in hard facts, no mushiness (not sure that’s a word, but you get it!).

Finally, even though our work results in hard facts that doesn’t mean it’s always easy getting there. We are after all, human. We had several people submit their stories for “my favorite lab mistake” and of course, we made a contest out of it. Our winner didn’t have egg on his face; it was much worse. But he keeps his mouth closed now! Thanks to everyone who submitted stories that may still haunt you and everyone else – I hope there was a lesson in those stories. One lesson everyone should have gotten, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself, learn from your mistakes and move on!

What a day in beautiful Estes Park! Thanks to Adele and the speakers who made it a great day. I can’t wait until next year!

Cat Cash (Laboratory Manager) has been with SeaCrest Group for 4 years, where she focuses on conducting Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) tests and culturing Ceriodaphnia dubia and fathead minnow.

In March 2026, Colorado was recorded as the driest it has been 1895, with levels dropping from 1.07 inches from the average and totaling only 0.45 inches in most areas. According to the National Integrated Drought Information System or Drought.gov, this means that 4.7 million Coloradans are now in areas of drought. Temperatures have ranged from 20-30 degrees above the normal average, and the snowpack is optimistically at ~40% of its normal levels. These stats support what climate scientists have been saying for decades, warming temperatures will have long reaching effects and Colorado is experiencing these effects firsthand.

In anticipation of continuing drought conditions, many cities and municipalities have enacted water restrictions. Broomfield, Boulder, Erie, Evergreen, Longmont, Grand Junction, and Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District have all enacted voluntary restrictions. These restrictions include reduced weekly outdoor water usage, and restrictions on daytime usage.  Though many of these cities and municipalities call them voluntary, some of them are also prohibiting watering for specific outdoor usage. Arvada, Aurora, Brighton, Denver Water, Edgewater, Golden, Northglenn, Thornton, Woodland Park, Eagle River Water District, Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, and Durango have all enacted mandatory restrictions. These mandatory restrictions range from stage 1 drought restrictions to stage 3. Fort Collins-Loveland Water District is still waiting for April’s levels to reveal if drought restrictions are necessary. These restrictions were current as of April 16^th, 2026, to CPR.org, but they can change at any time as drought conditions worsen or improve. Drought outlooks come from a monthly forecast and are based on long-term cycles that influence weather in North America. You can find the drought forecast on NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center website (www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov).

Long-term forecasts in Colorado have greater accuracy in winter months in our region—i.e., winter forecasts of La Niña/El Niño has a greater ability to predict winter weather, whereas long-term summer forecasts historically have not been as reliable (Crimmins and McClaran 2016). This means that citizens should operate as if drought conditions will worsen and not improve, as predictions cannot be certain.

Ways you can help include following all restrictions, as well as reducing usage through a variety of ways like intentional landscaping. My personal favorite is xeriscaping. This technique of landscaping has 7 basic principles: planning and design, selecting and zoning plants appropriately, limiting turf areas, improving the soil quality, irrigating efficiently, using mulches to cool soil/plants, and maintaining the landscape. More information on xeriscaping can be found on the US department of energy’s website: www.energy.gov/energysaver/landscaping-water-conservation.

To put it simply though, the water shortages that we have experienced thus far will look mild to what our future holds unless we get heavy record-breaking precipitation. Counting on these hopeful precipitation levels is unrealistic. So, reduction in water usage, especially in outdoor settings, is the best way to conserve water during drought conditions.

No AI was used in the writing of this blog

Jasmine Koster is the Laboratory Manager for Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority. She has over 20 years of lab experience spanning indoor air quality, drinking water, and wastewater analyses. She currently serves as the Membership Communication board member for RMWQAA. 

Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, or months where it felt like you couldn’t do anything without making some sort of mistake? When these instances happen to us at work it can be especially discouraging since we work in an industry that is so dependent on accuracy and attention to detail. The data we produce can drive important decisions or affect the ability to meet permit or regulation requirements. So, at times, little mistakes can have big consequences. Alas, we are all human and mistakes are going to happen. So how do we recover when a mistake is made and most importantly, how do we keep it from happening again?

First and foremost, if you recognize that you’ve made a mistake, admit it! Talk to a lead, supervisor, or manager to get guidance on if and how the mistake can be corrected or accounted for.

Secondly, whether you or someone else discovered your mistake, take responsibility. This is not the time to shift blame onto others. Remember, this is not personal, it’s business and the goal should be to correct the issue and prevent recurrence in a timely and constructive manner. Even in our personal lives, admitting when we are wrong and being accountable for our actions goes a long way in mending, maintaining, and/or restoring relationships and trust.

Next you will want to create a plan to fix the mistake and follow through with it, don’t assume that someone else will fix it for you. Again, this should involve help and guidance from those with the necessary knowledge, experience, and training to ensure the appropriate corrections are made. The resolution may involve as little as documentation of the error or making a correction to a report. Or the remedy may have much larger ramifications and require actions such as reanalysis of affected samples, resampling, or recalling data.

Once the mistake has been, or is in process of being corrected, the next step is to determine and understand what led to the error. This is an important part of correcting the mistake and preventing it from happening again (you know we love a root cause analysis!). For example, was it due to a lack of attention to detail or distraction? Could it have been a misunderstanding of directions or miscommunication? Was it because you were rushing or taking shortcuts?    

In some cases, once you have a good idea of what led to the mistake you can use it as an opportunity for growth. You can take action to create and put in systems to prevent you and others from repeating it and apply your new knowledge going forward. In other instances, you may only be able to reflect on what you learned from the experience.

Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Although we want to prevent them as much as possible, mistakes are a natural part of life. If you spend too much time dwelling on past mistakes it can hinder your progress and prevent you from focusing on the present (and distract you and lead to more mistakes!). Treat yourself with the same understanding and compassion you would give a friend. Once the correction has been made, you have learned from it and done what you can to prevent it from happening again—allow yourself to move on.

By following these steps, you demonstrate your commitment to doing the right thing. This level of accountability will not go unnoticed and who knows, maybe your mistake can lead to good things-process or training improvements, learning opportunities, and resiliency. By sharing your mistakes, you can invite empathy and connection with others; because what’s better than learning from our own mistakes? Learning from others’ mistakes!    

Danny McCausland is a Senior Water Quality Analyst with the City of Thornton. He has 12 years' experience working in the water quality field. Danny also serves as the Vice President of RMWQAA.

It’s easy to get comfortable in our own labs. We know where everything is, we know our methods inside and out, and we’ve figured out workflows that make sense for our team. Once an analysis has gone through development and is finalized, we often don’t think about optimization. But sometimes that comfort can also limit us. We don’t always realize there’s a better way to do something until we see it in action somewhere else. The City of Thornton’s Water Quality group recently had the chance to visit the new City of Aurora laboratory at the Binney Water Purification Facility. I was most interested in seeing how they had setup for extracting and running PFAS samples. We were in the process of obtaining an automated solid-phase extraction system and wanted to see how it ran and the workflow they had developed around it. Seeing and learning how the extractor worked really solidified for us our need for obtaining the system due to its ease of use and time saved for analysts. Walking through their process and talking with their PFAS analysts was a great reminder of how much we can learn just by observing and asking questions. One thing that Aurora Water Laboratory Supervisor, Susan Oster shared with us, was their use of positive displacement pipettes for working with methanol. Most of us have dealt with the frustration of using standard air-displacement pipettes with volatile solvents. Methanol doesn’t always behave well in a regular tip. It can drip, lose volume, or just feel inconsistent. Aurora’s team showed us the positive displacement pipettes they use, and the difference was obvious. No dripping. Better precision. More confidence in the volume being delivered. It’s such a simple piece of equipment, but it solves a real problem in organic prep work. I wouldn’t have known about another pipetting option if I hadn’t seen it in the Aurora lab. That visit reinforced something I think we sometimes overlook: RMWQAA is full of this kind of practical knowledge. Across our member labs, there are countless small improvements, clever workarounds, and hard-earned lessons that don’t always make it into formal presentations or written guidance. They live in conversations, walkthroughs, and side discussions during tours. Reaching out to another lab for advice shouldn’t feel like a last resort, it should be normal. Whether you’re setting up a new method, troubleshooting QC issues, or trying to make a workflow more efficient, chances are someone in this association has already been there. Taking part in lab visits, technical sessions, and even just informal conversations helps all of us raise our game. There’s also real value in the relationships themselves. When you’ve met someone in person and talked shop for an hour, it’s much easier to pick up the phone later and ask, “Hey, have you run into this before?” We all work toward the same goal: producing high-quality, defensible data to protect public health and the environment. Sharing what we’ve learned openly and generously, makes that work stronger across the region. If you haven’t visited another member lab recently or attended one of our monthly events, I’d encourage you to consider it. You might come back with a small idea that makes a big difference.

Lindie Aragon has been with the City of Westminster for ten years. She is a Senior Water Quality Analyst at the Big Dry Creek Wastewater Facility.

 

The Westminster Water Quality Team conducts monitoring of Standley Lake throughout the year. Here is their report on January’s sampling event.

Standley Lake Update 1.12.26

Samplers: Eric Scott and Peter Wethington

For the first sampling trip in 2026 and a rare January outing, it was a really nice day. It was partly cloudy, 59.6°F, with winds from 2-3 mph out of the South and a relative humidity of 37.8%. The lake parameters remain uniform from top to bottom. There was a little bit of ice on a few of the west side coves. With colder water temperatures, the algae and chlorophyll are very low. In short, the lake is doing great and other than not being iced over, is performing exactly as it usually does at this time of year. We witnessed many more bird species active around the lake than would be expected for January. Probably due to the open water.

Contributed by Lauren Gossett

Lauren Gossett is a Senior Water Quality Technician at Denver Water. She moved from Tennessee to Colorado after earning a B.S. in Geology, started in the field, and transitioned to the lab in 2024. She’s still growing her experience on instruments but has fully embraced her unofficial role as the lab’s social director. When she’s not in the lab, Lauren is chasing live music and will show up for almost any artist if there’s a stage and sound.

Disclaimer: This blog post was generated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

As the holidays approach, many of us cozy up with hot cocoa, decorate trees, and—more than ever—turn to AI helpers for gift ideas, recipes, or even writing blog posts like this one! But did you know that every time you chat with an AI, there’s a hidden water footprint behind the magic?

Why Does AI Use Water?

Large language models like ChatGPT and Copilot run on powerful servers housed in data centers. These servers generate heat as they process your requests, and just like we cool down after a brisk winter walk, servers need cooling too. That’s where water comes in.

Most data centers use evaporative cooling systems, which rely on water to keep equipment from overheating. The type of water varies:

• Potable water: Clean drinking water, often used in regions without alternatives.
• Non-potable or recycled water: Increasingly common in sustainable facilities.
• Closed-loop systems: Advanced setups that minimize water loss by recirculating water.

How Much Water Are We Talking About?

It’s less than you might think—but it adds up across billions of queries. Here’s a festive way to picture it:

Quick Facts (from least to most water):

• Writing this blog post (short conversation): 20 mL → about four teaspoons → enough to fill a tiny jingle bell.
• Reviewing a large file or attachment: 25 mL → about half a shot.
• Generating an Excel or PowerPoint document: 40 mL → about two tablespoons, or enough to make icing for one gingerbread cookie.
• Average-length holiday chat (~20 prompts): 50 mL → enough to fill a small Christmas ornament.
• Generating a festive AI image: 200 mL → almost a full mug of hot cocoa.
• Generating 190 AI images: 3.8 liters (1 gallon) → Watering a Christmas tree for one day!

Note: Estimates vary widely. Some studies include the entire lifecycle of AI models (training + inference), which can make per-query water use appear much higher—hundreds of milliliters or more. The numbers above reflect real-time inference only, which is the water used to process your request in the moment.

Why It Matters

As professionals in the drinking water and wastewater industries, we are stewards of our natural resources. While AI tools can be incredibly helpful at work and in our personal lives, we must be mindful of their environmental impact. By using these tools responsibly, we set an example and help protect the very resource we all work for—water.

So next time you ask an AI to write your holiday poem or design a festive card, remember there’s a little splash of water behind every word.

Water Used for This Blog Post:
Including writing, calculations, planning, and sourcing, this interaction likely consumed about 20 mL (four teaspoons). Just enough to fill a jingle bell!

Sources and Further Reading:

• Brookings – AI, Data Centers, and Water
• EESI – Data Centers and Water Consumption
• MIT News – Explained: Generative AI’s Environmental Impact
• EthicalGEO – The Cloud is Drying Our Rivers
• Microsoft’s Water Consumption Jumps Amid AI Boom
• Academic Research – Making AI Less “Thirsty” (UC Riverside)

Wishing you a joyful, sustainable holiday season! May your celebrations be merry, bright, and mindful of the resources that make life possible.

Contributed by Sarah Choyke

Sarah Choyke, Ph.D. is the Technical Director at Eurofins Environment Testing in Arvada, Colorado. She has 15 years of experience analyzing emerging contaminants in the environment with expertise in sample preparation, mass spectrometry, and analytical chemistry. She received her Ph.D. from Duke University (NC) and B.S. from Haverford College (PA).

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse class of synthetic fluorinated compounds known for their chemical stability and resistance to water (hydrophobicity) and oil (lipophobicity). These properties have made PFAS valuable in industrial manufacturing, certain firefighting foams, and a wide range of consumer products. However, decades of use have led to their pervasive presence in both industrial and residential waste streams. Today, municipalities and industrial dischargers face growing pressure to detect and manage PFAS in wastewater and biosolids.

Complex Matrices, Complex Challenges

Just as PFAS cannot be represented by a single compound, wastewater and biosolids encompass a broad spectrum of sample matrices. Influent and effluent may contain flocculant solids up to 5% while biosolids can range from liquid to dewatered or dried with moisture content spanning from 5-99%. These variations significantly affect the reliability and reproducibility of PFAS analysis.

Laboratory Tools and Limitation

PFAS Laboratories have limited but critical tools to mitigate matrix effects during sample extractions.

• For aqueous samples, subsampling or centrifuging can be used to reduce Total Suspended Solids (TSS).
• Subsampling maintains data integrity by representing the “whole bottle” but results in elevated reporting limits (RLs).
• Centrifugating preserves the lowest possible RLs but may compromise EIS recoveries due to sorption losses.
• For biosolid, physical removal of debris (large rocks, vegetation, invertebrates, foreign objects) and integration of pooled liquids ensure the extracted aliquot reflects the bulk material.
• The best way to ensure sample homogeneity and data quality is to use proper sampling techniques when collecting the sample.

The Gold Standard: Extracted Internal Standards

Quantitation using Extracted Internal Standards (EIS) remains the benchmark for PFAS analysis. This quantitation method relies on the recovery of isotopically labeled analogs (e.g., Carbon-13 and Deuterium) to internally quantify individual PFAS. It compensates for biases introduced during sample preparation and analysis due to matrix variability.

Partnering with Your PFAS Laboratory

PFAS Laboratories have highly skilled chemists, but they are not magicians. Clear communication and collaboration are essential – especially when dealing with complex matrices. Reach out to your lab if:

• Your aqueous samples contain unavoidable solids, perpetual colloids, or polymers.
• Your biosolids are viscous liquids or dried solids.
• Your samples have elevated PFAS concentrations (>10 ppb).
• Your samples are not homogeneous.
• You have specific reporting limits (RLs) or data quality objectives (DQOs) that must be met.

Ensure confidence in your PFAS results. Partner with Eurofins Environment Testing, with a dedicated PFAS-certified laboratory in Denver, CO, for expert guidance, robust methodologies, and reliable data across even the most challenging wastewater and biosolid matrices. Visit www.EurofinsPFAS.com.

Contributed by Adele Rucker

Adele Rucker is the RMWQAA President and Lab Manager at South Platte Renew. 

WEFTEC

“Solving water challenges takes more than great ideas—it takes connection, collaboration, and action. At WEFTEC 2025, you’ll find all three through cutting-edge solutions, hands-on learning experiences, and a global network of water professionals.” experiences, and a

That is the headline from WEF’s website for WEFTEC, the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference, this year. This large annual conference featured presentations about anything and everything water related. I had the privilege of attending again this year. Here are three reasons you should attend next year:

Operations Challenge

Four teams from the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association (RMWEA) competed in the Ops Challenge at WEFTEC this year. I was able to participate as a judge in the laboratory event again this year. The RMWEA teams swept Division I, winning 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place, that is a big deal! All the teams worked hard to compete, and we congratulate them all for their hard work and dedication.

Exposition

With over 1,000 exhibitors at the expo this year there is an exciting trend emerging: 3 utilities had booths at the expo this year. Last year only South Platte Renew had a booth and prior to that only vendors had booths at WEFTEC. This is our industry, and we should be represented at a conference that highlights what we do every day.

Technical Sessions

If it is related to water, whether it’s a hot topic like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), or a not so hot topic like cooling towers, J, there is a technical session about it at WEFTEC. Along with facility tours, WEFTEC offers education and a variety of solutions to problems faced by the entire industry. Education, idea exchanges, connections, and networking are available for everyone.

Did you know that RMWEA offers a scholarship for members to attend WEFTEC? Many RMWQAA members are RMWEA members as well. This is a potential source of funding if you would like to attend WEFTEC and your employer did not or will not allocate travel in the budget next year.

Here’s my summary, we need more- more ops challenge teams, more utility booths, and more participation from our great region.

Excerpts taken from Water Environment Federation, WEF, www.wef.org and RMWEA, rmwea.org