Idaho Rural Water Association

IRWA 2027 Spring Conference, Boise, ID

Idaho Rural Water Association (IRWA) is excited to host the 2027 Spring Conference in Boise, Idaho Wednesday, March 31 - Friday, April 2nd. IRWA is grateful for the professionals who volunteer to teach at our conferences and ask for your participation once again.

As a friendly reminder, IRWA does not compensate or reimburse for any of your time, salary, travel, lodging, conference registration, or speaking-related expenses.

NEW SPRING CONFERENCE STRUCTURE: For our 2027 IRWA Spring Conference we will be using Expo Idaho, 5610 N Glenwood St, Garden City AND The Riverside Hotel, 2900 W Chinden Blvd, Boise for our event. Diamond and Sapphire sponsors have the opportunity to reserve booths at both locations.

Since we have outgrown the exhibitor space available at The Riverside Hotel, IRWA is going to hold a one-day Exhibit Hall Experience at Expo Idaho on Wednesday, March 31st. We will finally be able to give companies more room to display their equipment. Booths will be piped and draped. You may buy several booths and bring in a truck or big piece of machinery! Exhibitor information is coming soon.

Because attendees still need their continuing education, we will be holding classes at Expo Idaho on Wednesday, March 31st. This facility will be perfect for hands-on demos and new product introductions. We will also be holding training sessions at The Riverside Hotel on April 1st and 2nd.

Since we have repeat conference attendance from our Operation Specialists, we are especially looking for NEW and UPDATED presentations. Our Operation Specialists also like hands-on training opportunities. We ask that you teach the principle and not provide a commercial for a specific product, unless it's presented in our new equipment showcase.

In order to qualify for continuing education units (CEUs) from the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses all training must be relevant to the job. Criteria used to determine if the subject matter offered in a training class is relevant are based on the Associated Boards of Certification (ABC) "Needs to Know Criteria". Relevant training is instruction or education that:

Is pertinent to or consistent with what an operator needs to understand to successfully perform a job in the drinking water or wastewater field and
Includes instruction that familiarizes operators with public health issues and source water protection issues; and
Is identifiable as only that information an operator "needs to know", which does not include information superfluous to the drinking water or wastewater aspect of the job

Please also keep in mind that we have many operators that serve private industry systems. The operators of food processing, fish farms, and Idaho National Laboratory, would like to see examples involving systems that they use. We have also had requests for training that is relevant to laboratory technicians.

Among the subject matter eligible for professional growth training are:

Operation and maintenance of water/wastewater treatment systems and associated equipment
Operation and maintenance of water/wastewater transport systems (distribution and collection) and associated equipment
Electrical systems
Hydraulics
Chemical treatment
Sampling/testing requirements, biological, chemical and radionuclide
Disinfection
Water/wastewater public health issues
Mathematics
Drinking water source water protection
Operator safety
Land application
PFAS removal
Algae control
Wastewater laboratory procedures
Proper fitting and pipe storage
Case studies of improvements to systems
Utility management
Asset management
Funding sources for utilities
Hydrant installation & repairs
Pipe repair & safety
Electrical safety
Laboratory technician
Emergency management
Best practices for standard operating procedures
Tank inspection
Leak detection
Cybersecurity
Contaminants in water and their effects on equipment
ARC flash
Motor controls
Reading lab reports
Reuse
Pathogens
Fittings and Control Valves
Lagoon operation and maintenance
How to use a microscope and interpret results (IRWA has 13 basic microscopes that can be used for this class)
Getting to the root cause of a problem - an analysis class
Protocol of changing equipment
How to prepare for a sanitary survey
Membrane equipment
Filtration equipment
Ultra violet technology
Laboratory basics & sampling procedures
New technologies
Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (IPDES) Permit
Basic chemistry and how it relates to water and wastewater industry
Emergency response

Because operators' length of service ranges from entry level to decades spent at the same licensed class, similarly classified individuals can have very different training needs. Training providers are encouraged to consider progressive levels of training for the various types and classes of operator licenses.

Please select SUBMIT NEW PRESENTATION to submit your information. Edit your abstracts and bios so they are ready for marketing purposes. Please make sure your bio is written in the third person. The deadline is October 16, 2026. Presenters will be notified before November 13th, if their presentation is selected. The Winter 2026/2027 Water Gram will be published the end of December with the conference schedule!

If you have any questions, please contact Tondee Clark, IRWA Training Coordinator at (208) 343-7001 or tclark@idrwa.org

Thank you for supporting IRWA with its training mission.

Submissions accepted from 12:00am EST on 07/30/2026 to 11:59pm EST on 10/18/2026

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