Call for Abstracts
"Celebrating Tomorrow's Environment: Clean Water for the Future"

We are pleased to announce that the 2024 Onsite Mega-Conference will be held this fall in Spokane, Washington. The theme for this year's conference is "Celebrating Tomorrow's Environment: Clean Water for the Future". The 2024 Mega-Conference coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first environmentally focused World Fair held in Spokane in 1974. We are eager to take advantage of this environmental connection to hold a successful conference.

The Mega-Conference is a combined effort between the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA), the National Association of Wastewater Technicians (NAWT), the State Onsite Regulators Association (SORA), the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association (O2WA), and the host state affiliate, Washington On-Site Sewage Association (WOSSA). The Mega-Conference is the largest event of its kind and offers decentralized wastewater professionals the highest quality education and training available. The 2024 event will be held October 20-23 at the Spokane Convention Center, Spokane, Washington. Sessions will be held October 21 and 22 with optional field trips on October 23.

Paper, Presentation, and Poster Options
Your abstract must fit into one of these categories:

Please strongly consider writing a paper to serve as long-term documentation of the conference and progress made in the decentralized industry. However, all organizations involved wish to encourage speakers from all aspects of the industry and are offering the following three presentation options:

• Oral research-based presentations: These may be related to new technologies, monitoring, extension/outreach education, field assessment, or any topic that is related to onsite wastewater treatment. A presentation could come with or without a paper.
• Oral non-research related presentations: These presentations could be about any onsite wastewater treatment-related topic including installation, maintenance, science about onsite wastewater treatment, maintenance, safety, septage disposal, environmental impacts, and related topics. Presentations must be clearly non-sales oriented. A presentation could come with or without a paper.
• Poster presentations: These presentations could be on a research or non-research related topic about onsite wastewater treatment and recycling. The posters will be displayed during the conference in a prominent location.
• Emerging Professionals: A special poster and oral presentation contest for Emerging Professionals will be held as part of the conference.

Paper and Presentation Review
The presentation slides (with or without a paper) and paper to be included in the Conference Proceedings must comply with formatting requirements and will be reviewed by the NOWRA Education and Technical Practices Committees. Each presentation and poster will need to have a disclaimer that states:

"The statements made by the speaker either verbally or written are the opinion of the author(s) and do not reflect those of NOWRA or the conference sponsors."

Important Dates

• May 28, 2024: Abstract submittals are due. Beginning March 6, abstracts can be submitted to the Mega-Conference Abstract Portal Click Here
  
• June 10, 2024: Authors will be notified of the Education Committee's selection and provided with instructions regarding paper, presentation, and poster criteria and format.
  
• August 12, 2024: Draft paper manuscripts due for review by the NOWRA Education Committee. August 19, 2024: Draft presentations due.
  
• August 19, 2024: Draft presentations due for review by the NOWRA Education Committee.
• September 2, 2024: Presenters must be registered for the conference and are responsible for covering their own registration and travel expenses. Failure to do so may result in removal from the agenda.
• September 2, 2024: Comments and/or edited papers returned to the author. If re-review is required, they will be due on September 11, 2024.
• September 16, 2024: Final papers and presentations must be submitted in electronic format to be included in the proceedings and conference. If the paper and/or presentation is not received by this date, the topic and speaker may be removed from the agenda.

Instructions about the Abstract
The abstract can have a MAXIMUM of 250 words and should include the following:

1. A sentence or two to introduce the topic and briefly state why it is important.
2. The objective(s) of the presentation/research.
3. Approximately three sentences describing methods or what has been done.
4. Highlighted results and then end with a final statement.
5. The presentation should not be a sales pitch but can be a product use presentation.

Presentation Slots
Each presentation will be allocated either 25 or 50 minutes. When submitting an abstract, you will be asked to:

1. Identify the Category that bests fits your submission.
2. What time slot you request (25 min or 50 min) and whether you would be willing to increase or decrease if needed to accommodate conference scheduling
3. To identify yourself as an Emerging Professional.
4. Will you be submitting a paper for the proceedings?

Abstract Submittal Requirements
When submitting your Abstract, you will be required to submit the following information regarding your presentation:

• Title of Presentation/Paper
• Abstract Category: Education, Inspection, Installation, Management/Maintenance, Policy/Regulation, Safety, Septage Disposal, Soil Evaluation and/or Technical
• Presentation Format: Presentation with a paper, presentation without a paper, or poster
• Brief Abstract: 250-word maximum description of the proposed paper and presentation
• Author: Name of author and presenter including email and affiliation
• Are you an Emerging Professional?
• List of Keywords: 3-4 keywords describing the presentation
• Target Audience: Will this presentation be better suited for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or ALL practitioners?
• Speaker Bio: A short bio of the presenter (250-word maximum) in paragraph form which includes education and relevant onsite/decentralized industry experience.
• Completion of Data: Will all the data needed for your presentation/paper be complete and available at the time of presentation/paper submission?

Questions about a Topic or Conference?
Please discuss questions about the applicability of topics for the conference with Education Committee Chair, Gary Hawkins, by email at ghawkins@uga.edu.

Please send questions about the conference in general to NOWRA's Executive Director, Tom Groves, by email at: tgroves@nowra.org.

Conference Website: www.nowra.org/conference/mega-conference/

To submit an abstract for the 2024 Mega-Conference,
please use the following link to submit your abstract(s) by May 28, 2024:
Click Here

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to celebrating 50 years of environmental protection in Spokane, Washington in October 2024!

All presenters MUST be registered for the conference and are responsible for covering their own registration and travel expenses to attend the conference.