Texas Water 2012 Awards

Awards Program

Conference Luncheon, Wednesday, April 11, 11:30 a.m.

WEAT Awards

TAWWA Awards

Outstanding Public Official Award.........2

John Lechner Award of Excellence.............14

Pillars of the Profession Award.......................2

Texas Founders................................14

WEF Outstanding Service Award................3

Chapter of the Year.....................................15

WEF Life Membership Awards......................17

Ballard Award.................................16

Medal of Honor for Heroism Award......4

AWWA Silver Water Drop Awards......................17

Lifetime Achievement Award------------5

AWWA Life Membership Awards......................17

Arthur Sidney Bedell Award...............8

AWWA Gold Water Drop Awards...................17 AWWA George Warren Fuller Award.............5

JOINT WEAT/TAWWA Awards Water Stewardship Awards.................9 Workforce Award...........................12

Awards Breakfast, Thursday, April 12, 7:30 a.m.

WEAT Awards

TAWWA Awards

Recruitment Award................................21

Membership Awards....................................43

5 S Aw a r d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3

Young Professionals Maverick Award.............43

Emerging Leader Award............................23

TAWWA Conservation & Reuse Awards........43

Exemplary Employer Award......................24 WEF William D. Hatfield Award..................23 Laboratory Analyst Award.......................25 Municipal WWTP of the Year Category 1.......26 Municipal WWTP of the Year Category 2......27 Outstanding Operator of the Year...............28

JOINT WEAT/TAWWA Awards Ken Miller Water for People Founder's Award...34 Watermark Awards.....................................35

Plummer Environmental Sustainability Award..28 Sieger Biosolids Management Award..............29 Sidney L. Allison Award........................31 Winfield S. Mahlie Award........................33

Night in Old San Antionio, Thursday, April 12, 6 p.m.

WEAT Awards

TAWWA Awards

President’s Service Awards....................48

Chair’s Service Awards............................48

Change of Leadership...................................48

Change of Leadership...................................48

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

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WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

OUTSTANDING PUBLIC OFFICIAL AWARD ...recognizing an elected official or regulator who has actively promoted sound science in policy and regulations affecting water environment issues within the State of Texas through documented, significant contributions in the areas of legislation, public policy, government service, and/or other area of public prominence.

Allan Ritter Texas State Representative Representative Allan B. Ritter was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1998.

He represents District 21, located entirely within Jefferson County, in Southeast Texas.

In 2009, Speaker of the House Joe Strauss appointed him Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources; he also serves on the Calendars Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means. He previously served as Vice-Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Chair of Pension and Investments Committee, and Chair of the House Economic Development Committee.

In 1999, Representative Ritter was honored as

Freshman of the Year in a bipartisan vote by his House colleagues and he has since been recognized by various organizations for his achievements and services as a lawmaker. Proven to be an active lawmaker, Rep. Ritter has passed legislation in a broad array of areas, ranging from criminal justice and tax policy to economic development and higher education.

Chairman Ritter is president of Triple R Brothers Ltd, his family’s 60-year-old business, which operates Ritter @ Home and Ritter Forest Products retail stores in Texas and Louisiana.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

PILLARS OF THE PROFESSION AWARD ...recognizing a longtime member of WEAT or WEF who has demonstrated meaningful and substantial contributions toward the improvement of the water environment via a distinguished career in the wastewater treatment or water quality industry.

Patricia M. Cleveland Patty Cleveland, the Trinity River Authority of Texas Northern Region Assistant Manager, is a 36-year veteran and a steadfast leader in the water and wastewater industry. She is a long-time participant and supporter of the Water Environment Federation, the Water Environment Association of Texas and the American Water Works Association.

Cleveland has fulfilled many leadership roles in WEF and WEAT, including serving as president of WEAT. She is also a past president of the Texas Association of Clean Water Agencies.

She repeatedly has earned recognition for her achievements, including eight WEAT Service

Awards, the WEF Arthur Sidney Bedell Award, the Quarter Century Operators Club and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies Presidents Award for outstanding service and committee involvement.

Under Cleveland’s guidance, TRA’s northern region wastewater facilities have earned numerous awards for operations excellence. In addition, TRA’s nationally recognized Operations Challenge team has won the Division I National Championship four times, and, with her encouragement, many of TRA’s operations staff have earned multiple WEAT and WEF awards.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD ...recognizing an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the water environment profession and to the Federation and its Member Associations.

David Briggs Mr. Briggs has over 17 years of experience in the areas of water and wastewater treatment design and construction for municipal projects. David received his Civil Engineering degree from the University of Texas in December 1994. Presently, he is a Principal with CDM Smith and is working as a project manager and engineer. His experience has varied from project management and design to operations and to construction administration; including on-site representation.

David has worked with many projects and clients that deserve mention. The following projects are just a few examples.

The design and construction of the water treatment plant for the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority, BCRUA. This plant will serve the cities of Cedar Park, Round Rock and Leander. The project, under construction and scheduled to be completed this summer, will provide 17 MGD of treated water to the cities and is ultimately designed to treat 106 MGD. David was part of the design team and is working as the Project Engineer for CDM Smith during construction.

The Bull Hide Creek WWTP and Interceptor projects for the Waco Metropolitan Area Regional Sewerage System (WMARSS) are close to completion.

David was the Construction Manager and CDM Smith was part of the program management team with RW Beck, now SAIC, and worked with the design engineer, Lockwood Andrews and Newnam (LAN). The projects provided an additional 1.5 MGD wastewater treatment capacity to WMARSS in the south end of their service area. WMARSS is made up of several cities including Waco, Bellmead, Robinson, Hewitt, Woodway, LaceyLakeview and Lorena.

Other projects include the City of Georgetown’s Sun City Lift Station Expansion; the Water Treatment

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

Plant Expansion for Bell County WCID No. 1; the Brazos River Authority’s Williamson County Regional Raw Water System (WCRRWS) Pump Station Expansion Phase 2, and the City of Austin’s Ullrich Water Treatment Plant 160 MGD Expansion.

On a personal note, David has been married for over 21 years to Shannon, who David says is definitely the “better half”. Together, they enjoy country dancing, playing “42”, and being with family and friends.

They have three kids: Bo, a sophomore; JD, a seventh grader; and Keely, a fourth grader. The last member of the family is their 7 year-old yellow Labrador retriever, Trinity. They enjoy vacations with the most recent trips taking them out of the great state of Texas and going to Florida and Colorado. They attend church at West Lake Hills Presbyterian Church, where David has served as a Deacon and is currently serving on the Nominating committee and Student Ministry committee.

David has been involved with WEAT since 1997, where he served as the Central Texas Section’s Treasurer, Vice-President, President-Elect, President, and Past President from 2000-2006. He began his involvement with WEAT at the state level in 2004 serving on Long Range Planning committees and then as WEAT’s Treasurer from 2006-2008. He has recently served as WEAT’s Vice-President, President-Elect, and is completing his term as President. David currently serves on the Audit and Finance Committee and chairs the Management Review Committee. He has been a longtime supporter of the Operations Challenge program and has recently been spotted working out with the Dillo Xxpress, Austin’s Ops Challenge team, at their Govalle training facility to strengthen his pipe-cutting skills for this year’s Texas Shootout!

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WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION

LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARD ...recognizing individuals who have been a member of WEF and one or more WEF Member Association for 35 or more consecutive years, and are at age 65 or older.

Dr. Neal Armstrong Mr. Malcolm Bailey Mr. Henry Benjes Jr. Mr. Walter Chiang Mr. James Clarno Mr. C. Rick Coneway Mr. Douglas Diehl M. Larry Green Mr. G.A. Harutunian Dr. Glenn Longley Mr. Mansfield D. McKnight Mr. Alan Plummer Mr. S.A. Russell Jr. Mr. Bobby G. Scalf

Austin Houston Austin Irving Round Rock Austin Houston Corpus Christi Austin San Marcos Wylie Fort Worth Fair Oaks Ranch Paris

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HEROISM ...recognizing an individual or group of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional courage and bravery in the performance of heroic behavior towards their fellow man. Several individuals and agencies are being honored this year.

Keith Wasson On August 23, 2011 at the South Austin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, senior Operations and Maintenance Technician Keith Wasson demonstrated exceptional courage and bravery during a chlorine incident. In returning to the plant control room from his rounds, he heard the sound of the chlorine leak alarm. Upon seeing the car of another employee parked outside the control room, he quickly and calmly entered the building and guided his co-worker out of an exit that placed them both safely out of harm’s way.

He continued to show uncommon dedication and

responsibility throughout the subsequent difficult response and recovery period the plant faced following the damaging leak.

Keith Orrin Wasson has been a loyal, committed, dedicated and exemplary member of the City of Austin’s Water Utility Department since 1993. Keith loves water, and as a youngster he dreamed of going into Oceanography. However, as he matured into manhood; his childhood choice turned to something equally rewarding, yet stayed within the realm of his love of water.

His journey began with the Williamson

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County/Anderson Mill MUD Wastewater Treatment Plant. There he began to acquire his skill in water treatment. After eight years, he was hired by the City of Austin Water Utility. During the course of his career, he achieved a class “B” wastewater treatment license, has been a member of the Austin Water Operations Challenge team, an active member of the City of Austin’s partnership committee, the Combined Charities Coordinator for SAR, as well as a strong member of the Hazardous Material team, as evidenced by his actions this past August. Keith’s time at South Austin Regional has been marked by his continual willingness to go the extra mile and to

volunteer for his team.

During the course of everything, Keith Wasson helped raise two children; Brianna, now a senior at Texas Southern University in Houston. Brianna will be graduating this year with honors. He is also father to Brandon, a high school senior and basketball star at Akins High School, with hopes of a professional basketball career. Keith is also a devoted husband to Livingston Wasson. Other than the blessing of his children and wife, Keith’s most crowning achievement has been becoming an ordained minister, receiving his license on the 21st of October 2006.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ...honoring an individual who has demonstrated continual and tireless contributions toward the improvement of the water environment throughout a long and distinguished career in the wastewater treatment industry and in WEAT and WEF. The nominee shall be a person of proven preeminence in numerous WEAT activities and shall have held positions of leadership in the WEAT organization.

W. Walter Chiang, P.E. Wen-Jo “Walter” Chiang was born on August 24, 1943, in China. His family relocated to Hong Kong in 1951 and later to Taiwan. In 1967, he received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan. He came to Texas in 1968 where he was an Engineering Research Assistant at the University of Texas at Austin from 1968 to 1971 under Dr. Gloyna, Dr. Malina, and Dr. Eckenfelder. He received his Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering in 1970 from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1974, he received his certification requirements to become a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. Formerly an adjunct faculty member of the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington (1976 to 1991) teaching and mentoring over 300 students, Walter still serves on both UT and UTA’s Civil Engineering Advisory Board and frequently teaches water and wastewater treatment short courses.

Walter Chiang was employed by URS (formerly

Forrest and Cotton, Inc.) from 1971 to 1976 as a civil/environmental engineer and then later as a project engineer. From 1976 to 1980, he was employed as a Project Manager for Dow Chemicals (formerly Hydroscience, Inc.) where he was part of the team that developed the Hydroqual Model.

On October 1, 1980, with only $1,000, Walter Chiang started his own firm, Chiang and Associates, Inc., in Arlington, Texas. In August 1986, he moved his company to the Dallas area where it is known today as CP&Y, Inc. Under Mr. Chiang’s leadership, CP&Y has earned a reputation for performing high quality engineering and planning work. The firm has offices in Dallas, McKinney, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Richmond. Under his leadership, CP&Y has become one of the fastest growing engineering firms in the Southwestern United States. The firm has evolved from an environmental services company to a multidiscipline engineering firm engaged in a full spectrum of projects from

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infrastructure development to mass transit, aviation and transportation, in addition to environmental engineering.

Walter Chiang has more than forty years of design and project management experience in both environmental and civil engineering projects.

Walter’s long, distinguished engineering career has focused on water quality and treatment technologies, and he is highly regarded for his expertise in treatment processes and operations.

Mr. Chiang specializes in water quality assessments, process design, treatability studies, pilot plant studies, and alternative treatment technologies for water and wastewater treatment. He has been in charge of many projects throughout Texas, other parts of the United States, and internationally in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mongolia, India, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico.

Walter Chiang is highly regarded in the community and professional circles for his knowledge and expertise in water and wastewater treatment processes and operations. He is a member of AWWA, WEF, and was the original Chair of the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Committee for the Water Environment Association of Texas, in which is he now an active committee member.

Texas Water has named the WEAT Operations Challenge competition the Walter Chiang Maintenance Event in recognition of his continued support of operations and maintenance staff at the plant level. Mr. Chiang founded CP&Y on his strong understanding and relationship with the plant operations and maintenance staff. He built a foundation for the firm with his plant piloting projects, while working closely with plant staff to identify solutions to challenges occurring in the field.

In addition, Walter Chiang has also conducted lectures and authored/coauthored numerous technical papers and books in the Water, Wastewater, and Solid Waste areas. In 2009, Walter was inducted to the University of Texas’ Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni and is also recognized as a Distinguished Alumni at CY University in Taiwan.

Walter’s impact is evident in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex through his involvement in many business and civic organizations. Walter

is a member of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and sits on the DRC Water Board. He is also a member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and serves on the International Development Board.

As a member of Dallas Chinese Bible Church with his wife of 40 years, Walter is actively involved as a member of the Development Board.

WEAT/WEF Involvement • Chair of the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Committee • Sponsor of the Walter Chiang Maintenance Event for Operations Challenge • Serves on the AWWA Algae Technology Committee Professional Affiliations: • Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) • American Water Works Association (AWWA) • Water Environment Federation (WEF) • Water Pollution Control Federation Professional Accomplishments • University of Texas Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni • Tianjin Academy of Environmental Sciences Technical Consultant • Invited Lectures o Special lectures for UTA short courses on water and wastewater design subjects. o Guest speaker at Vanderbilt University on topics of water system simulation and optimization by hydraulic modeling, 2001 and 2003. o Wastewater Collection System Simulation Modeling Training classes in Shanghai, 2002. o Modern Water Treatment Technologies lecture tours with Dr. Susumu Kawamura in Tiajin and Beijing, China, 2000. o Industrial Wastewater Treatment of Activated Sludge Process lecture tour with Dr. Wesley Eckenfelder in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong, and Korea, 1994, 1997 and 1998. o Principal participant in Special Lecture Series of Hong Kong University with Dr. Syed Qasim for water and wastewater treatment plant design in 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2002. o Participant in Training Courses for Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration’s

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Waste Management Group, 1994, 1996, and 1999. o Principal participant in Training Grant to conduct Short Courses for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region VI, July 1981. o Principal participant of short courses on “Activated Sludge Treatment Process: Reaction Kinetics, Process Variation and Facility Design and Control” offered by the Department of Civil Engineering and the Office of Continuing Education, The University of Texas at Arlington (March and May 1976). o Modern Water Treatment Technology Asian tour with Dr. Susumu Kawamura.

Books o Coauthor of book with Dr. Syed Qasim, Sanitary Landfill Leachate, Generation Control and Treatment, Technomic Publishing Company, Inc., 1994. o Translated into Chinese and editor of the book, Industrial Wastewater Treatment of Activated Sludge Process, Technomic Publishing Company, Inc., author Wesley Eckenfeler, 1997.

Technical Papers o “Physical-Chemical Treatment Design,” The Conference of Application of New Concepts of Physical-Chemical Wastewater Treatment, Pergamon Press, Inc., 1972. o “Comparative Studies of Biological Treatment and Chemical-Physical Treatment”, presented at Texas Water Pollution Control Association, 13th Annual Conference, 1974. o “The Design of Aeration Systems in an Energy Efficient Manner”, presented at Energy Optimization of Water and Wastewater Conference, US Department of Energy, 1979. o “Advantages and Disadvantages to Pretreatment of Industrial Discharges”, presented at the Texas Water Pollution Control Association Annual Conference, 1980. o “The Optimum Design of Aeration System”, presented at the Texas Section ASCE Meeting, 1980.

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

o “Overland Flow Land Treatment Kinetics”, presented at the Texas Section ASCE Meeting, 1981. o “Treatment and Recycle Wastewater from Filter Backwash”, presented at the Texas Water Pollution Control Association Conference, 1989. o “Biological Treatment to Remove Phosphorus and Nitrogen”, Purdue Conference, 1990. o “Retrofit Treatment Plant for Nutrients Removal”, Water World Conference, New Delhi, India, 1998. o “Water Treatment Pilot Plant Design”, Journal of Texas Water, 1991. o “Trends in Disinfection By-Product Regulations from a Treatment Plant Process Viewpoint”, presented at the International Conference on Water and Wastewater, Beijing, 1994. o “Water Treatment Plant Filter Ripening Strategies”, ICEWW Conference, Beijing, China, 1994. o “Treatability of Aircraft Deicing Fluids in Activated Sludge Process,” presented at the Texas Water ‘97, the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT), and the Texas Section of American Water Works Association (TAWWA) Joint Annual Conference, Arlington, Texas, April 6-9, 1997 o “Retrofitting Conventional Activated Sludge Plant for Biological Nutrient Removal,” presented at Texas Water ’98, the Water Environment Association of Texas, and the Texas Section of AWWA Joint Annual Conference, Galveston, Texas, April 5-8, 1998. o “Development of Hydraulic Simulation Modeling for the Shanghai Sewerage Project,” Proceedings of the 76th Water Environment Federation (WEF) Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC 2003), Los Angeles, California, October 11-15, 2003. o “Dynamic Simulation of Pump Station Operation Using a Real-Time Control Hydraulic Model,” Proceeds of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and Central States Water Environment Association of Texas (CSWEA) Joint Collection Systems 2004 Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 8-11, 2004.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION

ARTHUR SIDNEY BEDELL AWARD ...acknowledging extraordinary personal service to the Water Environment Association of Texas. The ­honoree must be a member of WEAT and should exemplify organizational leadership, administrative ­service, membership activity, stimulation of technical functions, or similar contributions to WEAT.

Ronald Dale Carlson, P.E. Ron Carlson is the plant Engineer for the City of Fort Worth Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility and is in charge of the Technical Services section.

The plant is permitted to treat 166 MGD of sewage by conventional activated sludge and anaerobic digestion. He has worked for the City of Fort Worth Water Department since May of 1983, with most of this time spent at Village Creek.

Prior to earning his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Lamar University in 1980, Ron had already gotten in on the ground floor of the developing interest in the environment in 1974 by earning the first 2-year Associate of Science degree in Environmental Technology awarded by Dallas County Community College. Prior to transferring to Lamar, Ron attended the University of Houston where he participated in the Co-Op work program with Champion Paper in Pasadena. Ron’s first job after graduation was with Alcoa in Point Comfort Texas, but after a year or two of hurricanes and giant mosquitoes, he decided to move back to Dallas/Fort Worth and accepted a job at Village Creek.

When he started at Village Creek, Ron had to learn how to back up process data onto punched paper tape. Fortunately, he already knew how to key-punch cards in Fortran. Ron served as Secretary, VicePresident and President of the Fort Worth section of the Texas Water Utilities Association (TWUA) and was recognized as Secretary of the Year for one of his terms in that office. He was a contributing author to the chapter on “Sludge Handling and Disposal” in the 6th edition of the TWUA Manual of Wastewater Treatment. Ron attended several “Short Schools” where he became interested in teaching. He pursued that interest by signing up as an operator training instructor for courses including Math, Wastewater Treatment, Advanced Wastewater Treatment, and 8

Anaerobic Digestion using material from the WPCF and TEEX training manuals.

The interest in conferences and teaching led to a conference in Monterrey Mexico called ExpoAgua being organized by the Mexican Water Society (SMAAC), WEAT’s sister Association in Mexico. One of the presentations described a design-build-operate project for a 115 MGD treatment plant. The designbuild portion presented no unusual problems, but the “operate” element was unique in that Monterrey did not have a pool of certified operators. In fact, most of the people with any knowledge of wastewater treatment were senior engineers. At the break, Ron sought out the presenter, and discussions led to a teaching opportunity, the establishment of an Operator School in 1999 and eventually to a national certification program in Mexico. Ron was presented the Jack Huppert Award by SMAAC for fostering international cooperation. Ron continued to attend and contribute to ExpoAgua, including presentations on various topics in Spanish.

Since joining WEF (formally WPCF) in 1986, Ron has actively volunteered in a number of capacities.

In addition to maintaining contacts and serving as a resource for colleagues in Mexico, Ron assisted with the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition in 2002 and 2003, represented WEAT/WEF as a resource for wastewater treatment knowledge during visits to Fort Worth by officials from Bandung Indonesia, was a judge for the Science Fairs in Fort Worth and Dallas, and served on the Awards Committee and the Scholarship Committee.

Ron is a member of Tau Beta Pi and the 5-S club, holds an A wastewater and a B water license in Texas, and has been a Professional Engineer in Texas since 1986.

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WATER CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL/TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD

BLUE LEGACY AWARDS Recognizing the importance of conservation in meeting our future demand, the 80th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature (2007) via the passage of Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 4, directed the Texas Water Development Board to appoint members of the newly created Water Conservation Advisory Council. The Council was created to provide the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Legislature, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, political subdivisions, and the public with the resource of a select council with expertise in water conservation. The Council is

composed of 23 members appointed by the TWDB. One of the charges the Texas Legislature gave the Council was to develop and implement a public recognition program for water conservation. To accomplish this, the Council partnered with TCEQ on its Texas Environmental Excellence Awards for the Water Conservation Award and developed a program to present water conservation awards at other existing events across the state. This includes partnering with Texas Section AWWA and WEAT to present Water Stewardship Awards annually at the Texas Water conferences.

Travis County WCID No. 17 Water District 17 is a retail non-profit public utility with over a 50 year history of providing quality water and wastewater service to customers in a section of the Lake Travis area. Water District 17’s reuse program is the largest in the Lake Travis area. It encompasses reuse not only for recycled effluent permitted through the wastewater treatment plants and used to irrigate golf courses, but also extensive landscaping and tree irrigation on medians and rights-of-way as well as common areas for homeowners associations.

District 17 has obtained a Chapter 210 Reclaimed Water Authorization permit for the entire area of the District. This permit allows for many opportunities to make use of recycled water wherever possible. The District operates four wastewater treatment plants, and each one has an associated reuse system.

District 17 has additional reuse plans for projects under construction. The largest of these will be the Lakeway Regional Medical Center parkland area estimated at twelve acres. Effluent lines are currently

being installed which will eventually irrigate this land with recycled effluent.

District 17 has been recognized by TCEQ Irrigation Advisory Council as a leader in water conservation for its management of local water resources and commitment to conservation. The District is the only Water Control and Improvement District in the area to have an enforced irrigation ordinance and an irrigation plan review program with a licensed irrigation inspector on staff who reviews every irrigation plan for effective use of water. The District works closely with all local entities to ensure that their water resources are protected and conserved. Some of those programs include:  Emergency Interconnect and Mutual Assistance Agreements with local utilities.  Reciprocal Effluent Irrigation Use Agreements with local utilities.  Collaborative Water Conservation efforts with the Lower Colorado River Authority.

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New Braunfels Utilities Numerous water utilities, of various sizes and ages, face the challenge of managing and reducing water loss from their systems. In 2009, New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) engaged in an aggressive, highly successful, and multi-stage leak detection and valve maintenance program that focuses on continual system maintenance through valve preventive maintenance (PM), leak detection, leak repair, equipment upgrades and specialized employee training. NBU took a unique approach and invested time and fiscal resources to purchase state of the art equipment; but perhaps more importantly focused on training a specialized leak detection team and developed internal policies to support the efforts and provide buy-in from the management level.

As a result, the program has proven that significant water savings can be realized by setting a focus on system maintenance and immediate repair of known leaks. In addition, adjusting company policy to place an emphasis on leak repair and leak detection can play a huge role in water loss savings.

For instance, in the three and a half years since this program began, NBU has recognized more than a 50% decrease in system water loss per day

through its 455 miles of pipe. Also, the first steps of this program, which included repairing all existing water leaks, allowed NBU to surpass the initial water loss performance measures set in 2009. In addition, as of January 2012, NBU’s average system water loss is 4.1% of total pumped water, which is 0.8% better than AWWA’s top tier benchmark for large cities.

Not only has NBU’s creative solution to a relatively common problem illustrated significant water conservation, but also it has realized fiscal savings for the company and increased morale among the employees. Among water utilities, water leaks are common and so is the practice of contracting out to third parties to locate and repair them. By taking the time to research alternative solutions and using existing funding to create an in-house program, the need for continued future budgeting and investment into third party contractors is reduced, if not completely eliminated. Also, focusing on equipment upgrades and increased employee training has brought the water line technician out of the shadow of manual labor and into the realm of an exciting high-tech industry.

City of McKinney Office of Environmental Stewardship The City of McKinney’s Office of Environmental Stewardship demonstrates a commitment to raising public awareness on the issues water conservation and energy conservation. City of McKinney’s multi-media public awareness outreach program is a creative way to raise the complexities and vital importance of water conservation to local residents without overwhelming residents with complicated graphs and statistics that rarely translate to the individual. By providing residents with tools and information on how they can positively change daily water use behaviors, the program can successfully alter water use in the locality. Such a broad public outreach campaign, combined with a water use policy that requires some conservation behaviors, provides a creative and multi-faceted solution to

the challenges of altering behavior related to water conservation. This effort includes electronic and social media, print advertising, handouts, and seminars for residents and businesses. The focus of the program is two-fold: water conservation for a drought-prone area and energy conservation for a non-attainment area for ozone under the Clean Air Act (as it relates to the energy-water nexus).

The City of McKinney adopted a forwardthinking ordinance in 2007 requiring year-round watering restrictions, ET (evapotranspiration) controllers for all new construction, and rebates for ET controller retrofits for existing irrigation systems. Beginning in 2009, the McKinney Office of Environmental Stewardship developed a public outreach program for residents that

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include an ongoing series of workshops and seminars targeting water conservation techniques (irrigation maintenance, rain barrels, composting, and Texas SmartScape) as well as communitywide events. In 2011, with the help of an ARRA (American Reinvestment and Recovery Act)grant, which was funded by the Department of Energy, McKinney launched a web-based water conservation program called “To be really green, you have to walk the walk” - http://mckinneytexas.org/ green/. In addition, McKinney utilizes Facebook,

Twitter, and Constant Contact (with about 1,400 people/businesses registered) to reach out to the McKinney community. The message is simple – sustainable water conservation requires each and every one of us to do our part; every drop of water saved is important. Working in concert with the municipal irrigation policy, the outreach program demonstrates McKinney’s commitment to successful water conservation for a sustainable future.

San Antonio Water System The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) conservation strategy has three general approaches: Education and Outreach, Reasonable Regulation and Financial Incentives. SAWS utilizes a conservation rate structuring that has become an essential component of their financial incentives strategy, and one of the many ways of reducing water use in San Antonio. SAWS has found that for them, a conservation rate structure is one of the cheapest and most effective methods to promote conservation. The rate structures that SAWS has employed for over a decade demonstrate that it is possible to use aggressive conservation oriented rates while maintaining excellent bond ratings and positive community perceptions of water service and cost.

Every five years SAWS forms a special citizen advisory group, the Rate Advisory Council, and contracts a rate study consultant to review current water rates. The formation of a Rate Advisory Council is a particularly important strategy in

successful use of conservation oriented rates.

Consultants and staff may provide a lot of technical expertise, but only a citizen group representing all types of ratepayers can assess what is fair and reasonable. The panel formed by SAWS for its latest rate restructuring met for nearly a year and worked hard at reviewing data, rate ideas and outcomes for various customer classes. Their support in presenting a new rate structure to the SAWS Board of Trustees, to City Council and to fellow citizens was critical to the successful implementation of an even stronger conservation oriented rate structure than the one SAWS has had for many years. The new rate structure further rewards customers who conserve water with lower water bills while fairly charging those who demand larger amounts of water at a higher rate. Since the passage of their conservation rate structure SAWS has continued to demonstrate leadership by presenting on the success of their program at numerous State and national venues.

Join us for other award presentations on Thursday, April 12 at the Awards Breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

Hilton Hotel, Salon del Rey

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

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Water Environment Association of Texas & TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AWARD ... to recognize a utility, agency or company for an innovative and successful program designed to promote workforce development for the utility, agency, company or the water industry in general. Another purpose of the award is to bring workforce development programs forward for others to use or adapt or be inspired.

Brazos River Authority The first recipient of the Texas Section AWWA/ WEAT Workforce Development Award is the Brazos River Authority for their “Developing Operators from Interns” program. The Brazos River Authority (BRA) water/wastewater internship program fully funds the hiring, training, and certification testing for five positions annually. These five positions are located at different facilities located in Belton, Taylor, Round Rock, Georgetown and Sugarland.

The interns typically work 15-20 hours a week for approximately four months. Through hands-on supervised training at the treatment facilities, as well as accredited classroom training, the interns get experience and are readied for applicable licenses testing. The interns have the opportunity to become licensed individuals who can readily fill internal BRA vacancies, or they can apply for similar employment elsewhere in the water industry.

The purposes of the program are to:  Introduce potential employees to the field of water and wastewater treatment  Provide training and hands-on experience in the fields of water and wastewater treatment necessary to become a State licensed operator  Develop an in-house pool of talent who can apply for full-time positions with the BRA  Develop trained/certified personnel who can help fill vacancies at other utilities outside BRA The internship program has provided opportunities to interact with various organizations

like high schools, community colleges, local workforce offices, and state agencies. BRA has helped educate these organizations on the water industry and our needs. After meeting with the Texas Veterans Commission last year, this year’s goal is to find veterans for these internships this year.

Honorable Mentions

All applications received were excellent. Each one had unique strengths prompting the committee to share brief summaries of the other workforce development programs that were submitted.

Irving

All applications received were excellent. Each one had unique strengths prompting the committee to share brief summaries of the other workforce development programs that were submitted.

The partnership between the City of Irving Water Utilities Department and the Irving Independent School District in the administration of a Hydrotechnology Program at the Barbara Cardwell Career Preparatory Center provides opportunities that enhance city recruitment efforts, heighten awareness of water industry careers among high school students, provide for internships, and prepare students to obtain operator certifications through the TCEQ examination process. As an integral piece of the Career and Technology Education Program, the Water Utilities staff, including TCEQ licensed instructors, spend a minimum of 20 classroom hours per year providing instruction and technical training plus many hours

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of hands-on demonstrations in preparation for testing for licenses. This program was the first of its kind in the State of Texas and among only a handful across the entire nation. It has been instrumental in promoting this approach to developing your own labor pool and has resulted in similar programs in Waco and Arlington. This partnership is a win-win for all as students receive critical training toward a potential career in water and the utility identifies the best and the brightest among the students for potential employment opportunities.

Waco

The Partnership for Water Education is a partnership between the City of Waco and A. J. Moore Academy in the Waco Independent School District. The City of Waco staff (a TCEQ licensed instructor) teaches A. J. Moore students state approved water curriculum necessary for a Class D Water License. The students also gain hands-on experience and are exposed to all types of water industry career options through field trips to City of Waco Utility facilities. At the end of the course, students have an opportunity to test for a Class D, Basic Water License. The purpose of the program is: 1) to provide students with the skills and an immediate career path after high school and 2) to create qualified candidates to fill vacant (or soon to be vacant) positions within the water industry. This program has brought increased awareness of the water industry and specifically, career opportunities in Waco Water Utility Services. The program has brought media attention to both A.J. Moore Academy and the City of Waco Water Utility Services Department. Inquiries and invitations to speak have been received from several other Texas cities and from other states, including California.

Arlington

Arlington Water Utilities (AWU) has created a partnership with the Arlington Independent School District (AISD) to develop a work study program to introduce the water industry to high school students and generate interest within this potential talent pool. The year long water work study program is offered to senior high school students with internships being sponsored by

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

the City of Arlington, neighboring water utilities and private industries. The students are expected to participate 15 hours a week in an internship position within the water industry. Their class work will be supplemented by field trips to local water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, and field operations/water distribution locations as well as invited classroom speakers on topics and careers pertaining to the water industry. In addition, the students receive supplemental instruction by a TCEQ approved instructor to meet the state training requirements. At the completion of the course and graduation from high school, they will have acquired the knowledge and skills needed to obtain an initial TCEQ license and immediately find a job in the water utility field or be inspired to pursue college degrees in engineering and science for more advanced careers in the water industry.

Austin

The Govalle Occupational Development & Support Facility was created in 2006 when the Govalle Wastewater Treatment Plan was decommissioned. The Govalle plant has a maintenance shop that now serves as an excellent classroom space. The salvaged equipment from Govalle, as well as other decommissioned utility facilities, provides equipment that can be used for training opportunities. The purpose of the program is to provide training on skills needed for a career in the water and wastewater industry, and to create opportunities for Austin Water employees for growth and advancement within the organization.

The hands-on, real-world training offered at Govalle ensures that the knowledge base across the Utility is consistent. The tangible benefit of the Govalle Occupational Development & Support Facility is improved mechanical maintenance performance at treatment and associated facilities. The advanced safety training has translated into improved safety statistics over last year. The intangible results are capturing knowledge and passing it on to younger employees, thereby alleviating the ‘brain drain’ that so many utilities are experiencing as retirement numbers rise. This also provides a sense of empowerment to employees that they are receiving the skills to rise through the ranks in the utility.

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AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

JOHN LECHNER AWARD OF EXCELLENCE …to recognize a Service Provider member of the Texas Section of AWWA.

Ron Collins Ron Collins is being recognized for his lifetime commitment to delivering safe drinking water to customers. His leadership on both Section level and Association level committees has led AWWA to successful working relationships between utility staff and service providers.

Ron Collins is a lifetime member of the American Water Works Association, joining AWWA in 1970. He has been active in the Texas Section from the very beginning. He started his volunteer career on the Exhibitors’ Committee (currently known as the Manufacturer’s Advisory Committee) when Texas was part of the Southwest Section.

Ron’s career in the water industry began when he was 16 years old working during his summer breaks and he continued in the industry after college graduation. During his early years at JCM Industries, he served the water industry in a regional capacity as the Chair of the Exhibitors’ Committee for both the Southwest Section and the Texas Section after they split. His contributions in that forum helped shape the current successful annual section conference exhibits plans. His input and the implementation of his ideas assisted the

sections in making the exhibits program dynamic for the conference attendees and profitable for the exhibitors. He later served at the Association level on the AWWA Manufacturer’s/Associates Council and has been involved in a number of other AWWA committees that directly influence the AWWA standards set for manufacturers’ products.

Among Ron’s many contributions to the water industry, education has been his passion. Through countless product presentations to field technicians, municipal management and design/consulting engineers, Ron has emphasized the importance of understanding the working characteristics of piping systems. Combining that information with the correct selection and application of products for repair, connection and branching, he has provided a solid foundation for an uninterrupted flow of safe, clean water to the end user. Ron has built a legacy in the water works industry by directly influencing the training of field staff and product sales staff.

He has devoted his lifetime of service to the betterment of the water industry and the regulatory environment.

TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

Recognition of Founders of the Texas Section Prior to 1971, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana made up the Southwest Section of the American Water Works Association. In 1971, our Section’s founders determined that Texas members needed to focus on Texas water issues and that we needed direct representation in the governance of AWWA. The larger utilities in Texas were quickly joined by smaller municipal entities and by several spe-

cial purpose districts and the leadership presented AWWA with a membership roster that qualified for stand-alone status. AWWA recognized the Texas Section in 1971. The Texas Section and the Southwest Section continued to meet together until 1992 when it was decided that our conference, like our Section, needed to focus on Texas issues. The first Texas Section Conference was held in 1993. In 1996, the Texas Section and the Water Environment

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Association of Texas in established Texas Water as a joint water and wastewater conference. It is such a success that it has become the largest regional water and wastewater conference in North America.

The vision and the hard work of those early leaders laid the groundwork for a very successful Section that has educated and empowered a long string of dedicated volunteers over the years. The Section has had strong leadership and many of those leaders have been willing to carry on Texas

traditions as leaders of our Association. We count four AWWA Presidents - Henry Graeser, John Stacha, Katie McCain and (soon-to-be) Charlie Anderson as Texas Section members along with Kay Kutchins, Mari Garza-Bird, and Glenda Dunn who served as AWWA Vice Presidents.

The focus of the Section has always been on serving our members and we are proud of the work that has been done to improve the delivery of safe drinking water to our citizens.

TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

CHAPTER OF THE YEAR South Texas Chapter Local Chapters play an essential role in the achievement of Texas Section AWWA goals and objectives. The local chapters organize a multitude of professional and social programs, conduct membership recruitment and retention drives, support technical activities striving to advance the water community, and market AWWA as “the authoritative resource on safe water.”

Through the new annual Chapter Awards program, Texas Section AWWA has the opportunity to recognize the valuable contributions of local chapters as they strive to enrich, educate, and enlighten the AWWA membership. Included in the Chapter Awards program is the Chapter of the Year Award. To win this award, the Chapter must submit in each of the five individual project award categories: Chapter communications, Community service, Educational offerings, Fundraising effort, and Membership recruitment and retention.

The first winner of the Chapter of the Year Award is the South Texas Chapter. This chapter serves the greater San Antonio metropolitan area and is a joint chapter with the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) San Antonio Section. The highlights of their achievements this year are in the community service and communications categories.

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

The South Texas Chapter participates in various community service events throughout the year. The Chapter participated in San Antonio’s annual “Basura Bash” which is the largest single-day waterway cleanup in Texas. The mission of the event is to increase stewardship of the San Antonio waterways through mobilizing volunteers for annual clean-up, providing community education regarding water pollution and natural resource preservation and building public/ private partnership for the community’s environment. Through its members and annual golf tournament the Chapter has increased the local community’s awareness of the “Water for People” program. Over the past three years, the Chapter has raised $50,000 for the Texas Section AWWA contribution to “Water for People.

The South Texas Chapter actively and regularly communicates with its members. The Chapter maintains a local membership database of local members and potential members and holds monthly meetings which include guest speakers, upcoming state and local activities, and volunteer opportunities. In addition, the Chapter maintains a web-site and publishes a monthly newsletter throughout the year.

The newsletter conveys technical studies and updates to its members on upcoming events.

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TEXAS SECTION – AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

WILLIAM T. “DOC” BALLARD AWARD William T. “Doc” Ballard was one of those people who not only was the consummate professional in his work, but also a mentor to many, and a friend to all. As graduate of the University of Texas at Austin in 1946, and later with a Masters in Engineering from Georgia Tech, “Doc” began his career as a professional engineer with the State Public Health Department. He was assigned to the Tyler District Office and remained in Tyler working for the Department of Health, and later with LaGlonia Oil and Gas. He returned to the Department of Health as regional engineer of the Tyler office until his retirement in 1987. “Doc” was a consultant in water and wastewater treatment until his death in November 1999. Many knew “Doc” from his work with utilities, his many scholarly and practical writings published in a variety of professional publications and his active role with organizations such as AWWA, WEF, WEAT and TWUA. And, he was a Texas Section AWWA Fuller Award Winner in

1991. For all that “Doc” did, those who knew him best remember him for what he did for others. As a public health professional, he remained committed throughout his long and productive career to helping us in the water profession do our jobs better and more effectively. And, “Doc” did it with a personal touch that made him a great mentor, teacher and welcome friend.

In 1999, the Texas Section AWWA created the W. T. “Doc” Ballard Award to recognize those Texas Section members who have distinguished themselves in our profession by using their personal influence to shape the course of change in our profession by helping utilities and individuals serve the profession better.

This award is not presented every year and only to those whose self-less contributions to the industry, beyond all others, deserves recognition.

The recipient of this award is kept secret until announced publicly.

Silent Auction Registration Area Closes at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 12 16

T e x a s W a t e r 2 0 1 2 SM A w a r d s P r o g r a m

AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

SILVER WATER DROP AWARDS The AWWA Life Membership Awards are given to those members who have achieved 30 years of service to the water community and AWWA.

Mr. William Carroll Mr. Walter Chaing Mr. Randy Goss Mr. Brad Greer Mr. Mike Hemphill Ms. Jill Jordan Mr. Ray Moreno Mr. Robert Pence Mr. Michael Pink Mr. Richard Turkopp Mr. John Wier

Dallas Irving Austin Richardson Colorado City Dallas Fort Worth Fort Worth El Paso Houston Arlington

AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARDS The AWWA Life Membership Awards are given to those members who have achieved 30 years of service to the water community and AWWA and are at least 65 years old.

Mr. Dennis Allen Mr. Edwin Ford Mr. Ronny Hyde Mr. Jack Owen Mr. Kenneth Vollbrecht

Plano San Antonio Fort Worth Austin Spring

AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

GOLD WATER DROP AWARDS The AWWA Gold Water Drop Awards are given to those members who have achieved 50 years of service to the water community and AWWA. The Texas Section AWWA honors two members as Gold Water Drop Awards Winners.

Mr. Robert Van Dyke Mr. Henry Benjes Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

Fredricksberg Austin 17

AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD One of the most prestigious awards in the water profession is the George Warren Fuller Award for distinguished service to the water supply field in “commemoration of the sound engineering skill, the brilliant diplomatic talent and the constructive leadership, which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller.”

This award winner is selected by previous Fuller Award winners, and kept a tightly guarded secret until the Texas Water Luncheon. In a unique ceremonial process, the current Chair of the Fuller Award Selection Committee of the Texas

Section AWWA will call all Fuller Award Winners in attendance to assemble in the front of the room. He will then direct the group to begin searching the room for the person known only to the committee members as this year’s Fuller Awardee. Slowly, as a brief highlight of this year’s awardee is read, the group will begin converging on this year’s winner’s location in the room. As the group converges, the detail in the awardee’s career highlights will become more and more specific. See if you or the awardee realizes at the last moment who the awardee is for the Texas Section American Water Works Association 2012 Fuller Award.

1972 1973 1974 1975 1976

TEXAS SECTION – AWWA GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD WINNERS Robert P. Van Dyke 1992 Lee. C. Bradley, Jr. Haskell R. Street* 1994 F. Warren Norris Richard G. Toler* 1995 Katie McCain David R. Smallhorst* 1996 Jack A. Renfro John H. Stacha** 1997 Randy J. Goss

1977

J.L. Robinson*

1978 John T. Hickerson 1979 Otis Goldman* 1980 George O. Muller 1981 Charles K. Foster* 1982 Glen Doty** 1983 John Kubala 1984 Phil Kosub 1985 James H. Bailey* 1986 Thomas D. Tiner 1987 Michael K. Tubbs 1988 Michael Meadows 1989 Kay Kutchins 1990 Dennis L. Allen 1991 W. T. “Doc” Ballard* * Deceased

1998

Ronny Hyde

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Steve Walden Carole Baker Mark Lowry Bill Riley Gary Smith Jeannie Wiginton Charles Anderson Glenda Dunn Bill Smith Dean Sharp Mike Howe Charles Maddox Mary L. Gugliuzza

For a complete description on the career of George Warren Fuller, read the following pages.

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AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD “Little can be said about George Warren Fuller without recalling a thousand and one connections which he has had with sanitary engineering practice in this country and abroad. Amazingly active mentally, he always catalyzed those individuals who were fortunate enough to work with him. An enthusiasm tempered by seasoned judgment and reinforced by a remarkable technical knowledge, accounting for the fact that his name is identified with almost every important sanitary advance in this country in the last four decades. Many, however, are born at the right time who are either ill equipped or are lacking in sufficient vision to make the most of that good fortune. In Mr. Fuller’s case, heredity and environmental influence, coupled with remarkable energy, all contributed to the development of a practitioner of outstanding stature. He will be remembered long in the future, as much for his distinctive personal characteristics as for his long list of contributions to sanitary science and practice.” So wrote Abel Wolman editorially in Municipal Sanitation after Fuller’s death on June 15, 1934.

George Warren Fuller was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, December 21, 1868, on the farm which was part of the land acquired by the family during the Revolutionary period. Three or four Fullers came to Massachusetts from England before the middle of the Seventeenth Century. The one with whom we are concerned was Ensign Thomas Fuller, who, in 1642, by vote of the people of Dedham, was “admitted” - a prerequisite to citizenship at that time - to the purchase of Martin Phillips’ lot. He seems to have been a capable and versatile man. He was a surveyor for several years after 1660 and selectman for fourteen years; he repeatedly represented the community at the general court, was co-trustee of money bequeathed for the establishment of a Latin school and laid out the road to Cambridge as well as many minor ones. He kept the town’s ammunition, for which he was paid ten shillings a year, but had considerable trouble in collecting the fee, and at one time remitted part of it in order to obtain settlement. In the succeeding line, down through Grandfather Asa Fuller, who was a Minute Man, there continues to be activity of a civic nature—service as selectmen, court representatives, and the like.

George Warren Fuller was at the head of his class when he attended the Dedham schools. His scholarship was, of course, a source of great satisfaction to his mother.

At sixteen he passed the examination for entrance at MIT but, his father having died a few weeks before, it was thought best for him to have a fourth year in high school, after which he was graduated at the head of his class and with the highest marks given up to that time.

At MIT he met and came under the influence of such people as William T. Sedgwich, Ellen H. Richards, and Hiram F. Mills, all enthusiastically interested in the new science of public health.

Their influence was felt throughout his life. Following his graduation, he spent a year at the University of Berlin and in the office of Piefke, engineer of the Berlin water works. On his return to Massachusetts, the state board of health employed him for some five years, during the latter part of the period being in charge of the Lawrence Experiment Station where he extended the experimental work and studies started by another famous chemist and engineer, Allen Hazen. The Lawrence Experiment Station was then recognized as leading in research on the purification of water supplies and treatment of sewage in this country. Fuller’s brilliant achievements in this field attracted such attention to his ability that he was selected in 1895 to take charge of the experiments at Louisville, Kentucky, in the use of rapid filtration. Immediately after he had accomplished this work, he was offered a similar engagement in Cincinnati, Ohio. These experiments served to remove the questions, which had been raised about the adequacy of rapid filtration compared with slow sand filtration for these municipalities, and, at the same time, established the value of mechanical filtration where conditions were such as to warrant its use.

During his 34 years of practice as a consulting engineer, following the opening of his New York office and, later, the opening of branch offices in Kansas City, Missouri; Toledo, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fuller advised more than 150 cities, commissions, and corporations on their water supply and sewerage problems. The outstanding engagements, including among others: Washington, D.C.; New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Wilmington, Delaware; New Haven, Connecticut; Lexington, Kentucky; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Montreal, Quebec; the Shanghai, China, Water Company; the International Joint Commission (Canada and United States boundary waters); the New Jersey Water Policy Commission; the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission; the Hackensack

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Valley Sewerage Commission; and the Metropolitan Sewerage Commission of Rhode Island. For many of these engagements, his service included full control over all engineering work involved in the preparation of plans and contracts, as well as the actual construction.

Notwithstanding a busy life in active practice, Fuller gave freely of his time and energy to the advancement of his chosen profession through participation in the activities of technical societies, through contributions to the engineering press, and through educational activities. His record in this respect is outstanding. He was a member of the American Water Works Association (President); the American Public Health ­Association (President); the Engineering Foundation (Chair); the American Society of Civil Engineers (Vice-President); the American Institute of Consulting Engineers; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the Institution of Civil Engineers of Great Britain; the American Chemical Society; the American Society of Bacteriologists; the Engineering Institute of Canada; the Vereines Duetscher Ingenieure; the Association Generale des Hygienistes et Techniciens Municipaux of France; and the Franklin Institute.

Perhaps the most significant of Fuller’s characteristics was his belief in organization and his devotion to standardization.

In 1920, at the Montreal Convention of the AWWA, Fuller negotiated the organization of a committee to codify and standardize water works practice. The Association before that time had developed a few specification Documents, but its relation to the preparation of those Documents was that of cooperative participation rather than leadership. The group under his leadership and chairmanship was first called the Standardization Council, later the Committee on Water Works Practice. He continued to be a dominant influence in the AWWA during the time its constitution and bylaws were being substantially revised.

At the New York Convention of the AWWA early in June 1934 (only a week before his death), Fuller was in constant attendance, participating in the sessions and continuing even then his stimulation of the activities of the Association and its elected leaders.

With the AWWA, APHA, ASCE and FSWA alone, more than 45,000 professional and technical men in North America are indebted to Fuller for the guidance of their organizational readjustments in the 1920-30 period, which made possible the standing that these associations have today.

George Warren Fuller was first of all a capable engineer, equipped with a mind that never closed a channel to new ideas. He was an inventive technician— first in the laboratory field, later in engineering and design. He was a skilled negotiator; a public relations counsel who never called himself one, but who by such skill persuaded reluctant city officials that they were very wise and right to authorize sanitary improvements. He was a loyal citizen who found himself able and willing to render service to his country during World War I. He was uncannily able to give ear to the ideas and aspirations of younger men in the field and to inspire in them some measure of the spirit of leadership that he possessed. He believed in the organization and assembly of technical and professional men and devoted himself fully to the advancement of their associations and societies to the end that they serve better through planned action and cooperation.

Fitting indeed were the words of M. N. Baker, in his editorial tribute in the Engineering News Record: History will be better able than we are to appraise the contributions of George W. Fuller to the art of water purification, but history will not be so well able to appraise Mr. Fuller’s personal qualities of understanding, kindliness, sound judgment and tact as are we who have been fortunate enough to have frequent contact with him in our daily work. Here also should be recorded an acknowledgment of the debt the profession owes to Mr. Fuller, especially his chosen branch of the profession, for his liberal contributions of time and energy to its professional societies. It can be said without fear of contradiction that it was chiefly through his efforts that the American Water Works Association has been raised from the level of a social group to its present high standing as a technical organization. Mr. Fuller’s passing also serves to re-emphasize the youthfulness of sanitary engineering and the fundamental nature of the contributions made by a generation of notable men, now largely departed—work that centered around the Lawrence experiments and laid the foundation for present design methods and practices of water filtration. Fuller’s achievements and those of others of his generation are a legacy to be utilized by the present generation to carry the art forward to greater perfection.

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Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

RECRUITMENT AWARD ...recognizing a member of WEAT for his outstanding recruitment effort.

Thomas Scott Baggett Dennis Laskowski Jeff Sober Thomas Scott Baggett

Scott was born in Linden, Texas and graduated from Linden-Kildare High School. Scott graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Biology. In 2007 he obtained his certificate in the Certified Public Manager program. He has worked for the City of Longview for almost 15 years, with 6 years as the Utility Plant Manager at the Grace Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, a 21 MGD plant, with 21 employees, and a $3 million budget. During his tenure as Manager he has lead many Capital Improvement Projects including automation of the four aeration basins to achieve better dissolved oxygen control by installing high-speed turbo blowers. Another innovative green project is the addition of a micro-turbine, which uses excess methane to generate electricity.

He holds both an “A” Wastewater and a “B” Water License. Scott was the Northeast Texas WEAT President in 2010. He has been instrumental in organizing the NET WEAT Biennial Seminar in 2010 and is currently working on the 2012 seminar.

He also helps organize the Northeast Texas Section’s Annual Crawfish Boil every March.

In addition to his involvement with the local WEAT Section, Scott has been extensively involved with the Texas Water Utilities Association. He has served in the past as President of LAS, PES, the East Texas District, and as Chairman of the East Texas Regional School. He currently serves on the Public Education Committee.

Scott is a member of the Longview Lions Club, and his pride and joy is his 9 year old daughter, Anna. He has coached Anna’s fast-pitch softball team for the last two years. One of his favorite

pastimes is fishing with his daughter.

WEAT would like to thank Scott for all of his efforts in the Northeast Texas Section and at with the State level. He is truly an asset to WEAT and his dedication and energy is greatly appreciated!

Dennis Laskowski

Mr. Dennis Laskowski is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, holds a Class B Water Distribution System Operator License, and is a certified NASSCO PACP operator. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) where he graduated Cum Laude. He recently earned an Associates of Applied Science degree in Surveying Engineering Technology from San Antonio College.

While attending and upon completion of college at UTSA, Dennis worked for the Texas Department of Transportation, San Antonio Public Works Department, and the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) where he is currently a Project Engineer.

While employed with SAWS for the past 12 years, his duties have included the development and/or implementation of Annual Construction Contracts for Pipe bursting, Cured-in-place pipe, Asphalt, Concrete, Excavation/Backfill and sewer line cleaning, all a first for SAWS. Other responsibilities have including the design of sewer emergency projects for collapsed pipe, scheduling and coordinating work for the survey department, design and review of water and sewer main projects, and the project manager of contracts to name a few.

Dennis has been actively involved in his local WEAT section since 1999 when he and his former boss founded the section and Dennis was voted

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Secretary. Mr. Laskowski played an instrumental role in defining the section by starting a newsletter, gaining sponsorships, opening up a bank account, scheduling meetings, recruiting members, implementing the Constitution and Bylaws, and instigating the section’s 1st bowling social. Mr. Laskowski continues to help his local WEAT section in numerous ways including setting up happy hours for the young professionals in the area, participating in annual science fair activities on behalf of WEAT and AWWA, holding many officer positions in the section including President and now the Section Representative, and initiating a student membership award and scholarship with the University of Texas at San Antonio and the local section. Dennis notes that his participation has been a rewarding experience and encourages everyone to volunteer in their local section if they choose to do so.

Dennis previously won WEAT’s prestigious Emerging Leader Award in 2003. In addition he has won WEAT’s Recruitment Award seven times! WEAT wishes to recognize, thank, and congratulate Dennis for his continued service.

Jeff Sober

Jeff Sober has worked in the Water/Wastewater

field for the last 12 years beginning as an apprentice for Environmental Training, Inc., an operations consulting firm. Jeff specialized in plant assessments to identify areas of O&M improvement throughout the US. He trained under a Double A water/wastewater operator and received first hand knowledge of process control of wastewater plants.

Jeff graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering. He joined Carollo Engineers in Dallas and works primarily on wastewater treatment plant projects with a focus on solids processing and handling. Jeff’s professional experience includes master planning, design, construction management, condition assessment, and project management.

Jeff has been an active member of Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) since 2005. In 2007, Jeff accepted a position on the WEF Student and Young Professionals Committee.

In 2008, he accepted a position on the WEF Membership Committee and the role of Co-Chair

of the NTS Young Professionals (YP) Committee.

As the Committee Co-Chair, he encouraged involvement of YPs in various WEAT activities, arranged YP plant tours, organized YP networking and social outings, and generated YP attendance levels that were the highest in the last five years.

In 2008, Jeff joined the WEAT Operations Challenge Committee. He was responsible for handling the behind the scenes logistics for the Operations Challenge program. During this time he also served as a WEF Operations Challenge National Competition Collection Systems Event Judge. In 2010, Jeff took over the Committee Chair role for the WEAT Operations Challenge Committee, a yearround responsibility. Since taking a lead roll in the Texas Operations Challenge program, the event has seen the highest level of donations and sponsorships to date.

Jeff currently serves as the Chair of the NTS Seminar Committee and in 2011 completed the organization of the successful February Seminar.

Jeff also serves as the Chair of the NTS Fundraising Committee; in this capacity, he developed and organized the March 2010, 2011, and 2012 Sporting Clays Tournaments. The events were extremely successful, with over 100 WEAT participants shooting clays and raising funds for the North Texas Section scholarships and Water for People.

Jeff is involved in the WEAT North East Texas Section (NETS). He accepted a position on their Seminar Committee and helped organize their technical seminars in 2010. Jeff developed a new sponsorship approach with multi-level categories of sponsors. This new sponsorship structure led to NETS’ most profitable seminar to date.

Jeff’s other WEAT volunteer activities include science fair judging, leading a cook-off team at the annual NTS Cook-off event, and participating in NTS fund-raising events for Water For People. Jeff Sober was the recipient of WEAT’s Emerging Leader Award in 2011. WEAT would like to thank Jeff for all of his dedication to our Ops Challenge teams, innovative fundraising ideas, and recruitment efforts.

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Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

SELECT SOCIETY OF SANITARY SLUDGE SHOVELERS Founded by the Arizona Member Association in 1940, it originated to encourage members to get involved. You cannot join the Society – you must be “selected” on the basis of merit.

Within WEAT, induction into the prestigious society is based on “Outstanding, meritorious service above and beyond the call of duty” by recruiting at least five new members. Shovels

may also be awarded for exceptional service as established by the WEAT Board.

This year’s rcipients are: • Scott Baggett • Jason Crawley • Sebastian Fichera • Jeff Sober • Susan Smith Turrieta

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

EMERGING LEADER AWARD ...presented to a young member of WEAT who has provided outstanding service in support of the Association in the form of committee involvement, recruiting, volunteer time, event participation, or other contributions.

Erin Flanagan, P.E. Erin Flanagan is a 2001 graduate of Texas Tech University receiving both a Bachelor of Science and Master in Environmental Engineering. Erin is a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. She currently works as a water/wastewater treatment engineer and project manager with Freese and Nichols. She has over ten years of experience in the evaluation, design and management of a variety of wastewater and water treatment facility projects. Her experience includes project management and lead design roles on disinfection, reuse, and treatment evaluations, with associated design services and construction management. Her previous design work includes large wastewater designs at the Dallas Water Utilities’ and the Trinity River Authority’s regional wastewater plants in North Texas.

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

Erin is an advocate for WEAT and has been a WEF member for several years. She currently serves as President of the North Texas Section of WEAT facilitating dinner programs, annual seminars, continuing education, and other events to help raise funds for the North Texas Section’s own scholarship program. She is a long-time supporter of the operations challenge, serving for several years, including this year, as an event judge for the pump maintenance event. She has even competed on a judge’s demonstration team in this event. She also currently holds the title of Fastest Saw Cut – Ladies Division, in the yearly competition here at Texas Water.

Throughout her career, Erin has remained a devoted wife to her husband Bob, and mother to their two daughters Kelly and Allison.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

EXEMPLARY EMPLOYER AWARD ...recognizing a Texas employer that supports and facilitates employee involvement and activities within the Water Environment Association of Texas and the Water Environment Federation.

Trinity River Authority of Texas Throughout its history, the Trinity River Authority of Texas has actively encouraged its employees to contribute thousands of hours to fulfill leadership, technical and creative roles within the Water Environment Federation, the Water Environment Association of Texas and the North Texas section.

Staff members have served in officer positions, as committee chairs, and as program leaders at the national, state and local levels.

They have shared technical knowledge with

WEAT members one-on-one, on subcommittees, in presentations and in facility tours – and TRA personnel have helped the organizations document, publicize and communicate activities.

In addition, TRA employees have promoted wastewater treatment excellence through their involvement in the Operations Challenge competition – both as team members and through their leadership in developing the program into a nationally recognized powerhouse.

WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION

WILLIAM D. HATFIELD AWARD ...recognizing an operator of wastewater treatment plants for outstanding performance and professionalism.

Gary LaGassey Mr. Gary LaGassey has been employed with the City of Fort Worth Water Department since 1979.

For over thirty-two years Gary has made his life at the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility (VCWRF). Thirty-two years ago Village Creek was a small 96 MGD activated sludge plant. Mr. Lagassey grew into his profession along with the facility to where it is today at 166 MGD. It is one of the largest and technically advanced water reclamation facilities in the state. His experience, dedication and leadership as an operator have played a critical role in Village Creek being recognized as a leader in wastewater treatment. This recognition has come in the form of numerous awards including several EPA’s Large Plant O&M Excellence awards and the NACWA Platinum Award for 21 consecutive years of permit compliance.

Gary began his career in wastewater treatment as a high school student working part time at a treatment plant in Haltom City. In1979, just a

year out of high school, he was hired by the Fort Worth Water Department as an operator trainee at Village Creek and has worked in all areas of the plant as an Operator I, II and III until being promoted to Operations Supervisor in 1989 and to Assistant Water Systems Superintendent in 2009.

Mr. LaGassey has continued to grow and develop with Village Creek and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the high school student intern program.

Gary is always willing to teach and train others, and he has completed countless hours of training during his career. He has held a TCEQ Class “A” Wastewater License since 2000. In 1998 he became a TEEX certified instructor, and has taught numerous classes for TEEX and at the North Central Texas Regional School. He has authored two manuals used for training personnel in operating the activated sludge process at Village Creek and conducted plant tours.

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Gary distinguishes himself by being a conscientious and diligent operator who will come to the plant anytime, day or night, including weekends. He takes exceptional pride during periods of heavy rainfall to insure the High Rate Clarifier is operational and the plant continues to process within permit limits. He possesses excellent troubleshooting skills that gained him the reputation of being an effective investigator of problems at the plant, “he knows the plant better than anybody�. He has also very successful managing challenging situations in operations to ensure compliance in the midst of emergencies and multiple construction projects.

Gary understands that his most important job is to train his replacement, and he understands his value is in the continued success of the organization and the facility. He is always eager to share his knowledge encouraging other operators to upgrade their licenses. His dedicated service is also demonstrated by his commitment to establish and

write Standard Operating Procedures currently in use at the plant, and continues to update current procedures as an ongoing project.

Gary is a long-time member of the Water Environment Federation and the Water Environment Association of Texas. He especially enjoys attending Texas Water and WEFTEC conferences. He helped organize the Texas Water Conference in Fort Worth 2011. He participated in the Operator Challenge program as a member of the Fort Worth Cowtown Hustlers for over five years.

He was serving as captain of the team when the Hustlers won the WEF Division 2 championship in 2000.

Gary is happily married to Ramona for 14 years and has a son named Travis. He likes living in Alvarado and dreams of building a house on his beautiful lot. He is an avid NASCAR fan and likes bowling and drawing. He recently took on a new hobby of shooting sporting clays, which has proven to be a new challenge him.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

LABORATORY ANALYST EXCELLENCE AWARD ...recognizing a member of WEAT for outstanding performance, professionalism, and contributions to the water quality analysis profession.

Karen Fetters Karen Fetters is the Wet Chemistry Supervisor for The North Texas Municipal Water District.

Karen has a degree in Food Processing Technology from Arkansas Valley Institute and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from University of the Ozarks. Ms. Fetters is a member of WEAT and is an active member of the Texas Water Utilities Association North Texas Laboratory Analyst Section.

Ms. Fetters has over 20 years experience in the laboratory environment. She began analyzing wastewater samples when she was with Tyson Foods River Valley in Scranton, Arkansas. Karen continued her analytical career when she joined the North Texas Municipal Water District as a Senior Laboratory Technician in 2007. Her strong analytical skills, people skills and previous

management experience were quickly recognized and she was promoted to Supervisor of the Wet Chemistry section in 2009.

As the supervisor for the Wet Chemistry section, Karen is responsible for reviewing the data generated in her section, supervising a staff of seven analysts, and notifying laboratory upper management of any issues in her area. In 2008, she earned her Class B Wastewater license. She knows that having a greater understanding of the wastewater treatment process provides her with the background information to understand the reasons for performing a particular test on a sample, the importance of the data in complying with State and Federal Regulations and how the sample results are influenced by the wastewater treatment process.

Karen continues to pursue training in drinking

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water and wastewater operations, laboratory techniques and hazardous waste management.

Additionally, Karen actively supports training of her staff and future scientists including high school and

college students.

Karen has three grown children and four grandchildren who reside in Arkansas.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OF THE YEAR Category 1 (<1 MGD) ...presented to a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Texas that has consistently exhibited outstanding performance of daily activities beyond the normal call of duty.

Cordillera Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority The Guadalupe Blanco River Authority Cordillera Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant is a membrane wastewater plant and utilizes the “extended air process” and membrane filtration with a permitted capacity of 0.064 MGD. This wastewater treatment plant is unique in that it does not utilize a clarifier in the treatment process.

The high quality effluent is reused as surface irrigation for a 102 acre golf course. GBRA was involved in the design and construction inspection of the Cordillera Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant. Construction was completed and operations began in February of 2008. The Cordillera Ranch permit (permit #WQ0014385001) limits are 5 mg/L biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), 5mg/L total suspended solids (TSS), 2 mg/L Ammonia-Nitrogen.

The wastewater treatment plant has an excellent compliance history and has had no compliance violations since the plant began operations. The average discharge flow is approximately 30,000 gallons per day. The largest increase in flows occurs during the holidays and holiday weekends.

The operators of the Cordillera Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant also operate the low pressure sewer collection system and are responsible for the maintenance of the sewer grinder units located at each individual house in the subdivision. Juan Vasquez, Plant Manager of the GBRA-Western Canyon Water Treatment Plant, supervises all aspects of the facility and collection system. Jeff Hebert and Allen Lawson operate and maintain the plant and perform necessary process control testing. Jeff and Allen hold a “D” wastewater

license and Juan holds an “A” wastewater license.

GBRA is very proud of its health and safety programs. Texas Water Utilities Association and the Texas Water Conservation Association Risk Management Fund have recognized GBRA for its outstanding health and safety programs. GBRA utilizes its Safety Manual and the GBRA Health and Safety Policy Manual as a guide to continuously improve in the area of safety. The objective of every GBRA employee and division is “Zero Lost Time” which has been achieved by the Cordillera Ranch plant since start-up four years ago. Safety meetings are held monthly in conjunction with the GBRAWestern Canyon Water Treatment Plant.

Operators perform aggressive preventative maintenance on all equipment including the membranes at the wastewater treatment plant to ensure peak performance. The operators also incorporate a predictive maintenance program where vibration analysis, oil analysis, motor circuit evaluation and infrared thermography are preformed periodically. The Cordillera Ranch WWTP is an automated plant utilizing SCADA. The Cordillera Ranch wastewater plant SCADA is also monitored at the GBRA-Western Canyon WTP as a backup to the WWTP SCADA. The Cordillera Team has been able to operate the Cordillera Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant so that it consistently produces high quality effluent (average turbidity of 0.15 NTU) for golf course reuse, while at the same time maintain all equipment and ensuring a safe work environment.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OF THE YEAR Category 2 (1-15 MGD) ...presented to a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Texas that has consistently exhibited outstanding performance of daily activities beyond the normal call of duty.

Woodlands Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 1 San Jacinto River Authority The San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) owns, operates, and maintains Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 1 located in The Woodlands, Texas as well as two other Wastewater Treatment Plants in the area. WWTP No. 1 is a regional plant that serves the wastewater treatment needs of several Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) in the immediate area. Each MUD has entered into an agreement with SJRA for financing, construction, and operation of the water supply and wastewater treatment systems. SJRA provides wholesale services to the MUDs, and the MUDs provide retail services to their customers. The treatment plant has a design capacity of 7.8 million gallons per day (MGD) and a permitted 2-hour peak flow of 18.0 MGD with an average daily effluent flow of 3.5 MGD. The plant receives influent from primarily residential dwellings and commercial businesses with several industrial users.

The wastewater treatment at this facility consists of mechanical and manual bar screens, a grit removal unit, four aeration basins, three secondary clarifiers, two low-head sand filters, and three chlorine contact basins. Waste activated sludge is aerobically digested by way of four digesters and one gravity thickener and dewatered by belt filter press. Effluent from this facility is discharged to Panther Branch (Outfall 001) or alternately, to Harrison Lake (Outfall 002) for

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

reuse.

The Woodlands Division of SJRA is divided into three main Departments; Operations (Water and Wastewater); Maintenance (electrical and mechanical); Technical Services (Engineering and Capital Improvements). The Woodlands Division is also supported by support groups from the General Administration offices (SCADA / I&C, Purchasing, Risk/Safety, Accounting). The Professionals from each of the Departments work together to ensure that the highest quality effluent is produced in the most efficient and economical manner.

SJRA is constantly looking for ways to improve quality and service to our customer districts, residential neighbors, and commercial neighbors, while at the same time providing consistent water quality. Time and effort is spent to research proposed and possible water quality issues, â&#x20AC;&#x153;greenâ&#x20AC;? works, and efficient operations then act upon items that will improve the water quality, improve efficiency, reduce the environmental impact, and /or make the facility a better facility prior to being regulated to do so. SJRA is always looking for ways to improve the effluent water quality with due diligence in environmental matters, reliable operations, consistent performance, and outstanding teamwork when it comes to environmental stewardship.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

OUTSTANDING OPERATOR OF THE YEAR ...presented to a municipal wastewater treatment plant operator in the State of Texas who has demonstrated outstanding professionalism at his/her facility and has performed his/her duties tirelessly and with dedication to the betterment of the water environment.

Mark A. Evers Mr. Mark Evers is a graduate of Crowder College Waste Water Technician program where he obtained his first wastewater operator’s license.

He joined the City of Dallas Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant staff in 1983 as a plant operator.

Since the start of his career at the Southside Plant, Mark has held numerous positions and always performs his duties tirelessly and with outstanding professionalism.

In 1991, Mark earned a Texas Class “A” Wastewater Operators’ License. At this time he was one of a few operators with a Texas Class “A” license.

Mark is always looking for opportunities to continue to improve his professional knowledge through classes and professional seminars.

Since 1995 Mark has served as the Chief Operator and Assistant Manager of Operations at Southside Plant. Mark is responsible for managing all day-to-day activities of Southside’s 110 MGD

treatment process and 168 dry-tons per day solids processing and disposal operations. Under his watch, Southside has recorded no permit violations and continues to operate, for the last twenty consecutive years, without a permit violation. His leadership has contributed to Southside getting numerous awards, including: EPA Biosolids Management Award, WEAT Ronald B. Sieger Biosolids Management Award, EPA Operations & Maintenance Excellence Awards, WEAT Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant of The Year Category 3, and NACSA Platinum awards for three consecutive terms.

Mark continues to work very hard at maintaining good relationships with the neighboring community for which his efforts have been highly appreciated. His commitment to the betterment of the environment is unquestionable and exemplary.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

ALAN H. PLUMMER ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD ...recognizing an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the field of environmental sustainability practices within the State of Texas.

Webster Mangham Webster Mangham is a Planning and Environmental Management Assistant at the Trinity River Authority of Texas. He joined TRA in 2005 as a Water Quality Technician and advanced to his current position in 2006.

His main duties include study design, coordination, and execution of river field studies, GIS analysis and database management, and report writing for TRA’s Planning and Environmental Management Division.

He also oversees field-related equipment and

assists in the administration of the Texas Clean Rivers Program. Mangham has presented technical papers at numerous conferences and is a recognized expert in water quality in the Trinity River Basin.

Prior to joining TRA, Mangham served as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. He holds a BA in Communication from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s degree in Applied Geography from the University of North Texas.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

RONALD B. SIEGER BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT AWARD ...presented to a WEAT member(s), an engineering firm, a specific project, a municipality, or a specific municipal or industrial facility that has made significant accomplishments in the field of biosolids technology and management practices within the boundaries of the State of Texas.

Trinity River Authority of Texas Ten Mile Creek Regional Wastewater System TRA operates the Ten Mile Creek Regional Wastewater System which services the contracting parties of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Lancaster, and Ferris. Initially designed in 1969 with a capacity of 6.78 MGD, the wastewater treatment plant has been upgraded on several occasions to accommodate rapid population growth in the surrounding areas. The first of these improvements was completed in 1986 and is referred to as the Phase I expansion, which increased TMCRWS’ rated capacity to 11.5 MGD. Phase II construction enlarged the capacity to 20 MGD in 1988, and in 1989, Phase III rehabilitated portions of the original plant and added one aeration basin. In 2004, TRA received an approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for an uprating of the plant capacity from 20 MGD to 24 MGD. The plant serves approximately 130,000 people in southern Dallas County including Duncanville, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Lancaster, and Ferris, and has a discharge permit of 10 mg/l CBOD, 3 mg/l ammonia, and 6 mg/l DO. Six years ago, the Trinity River Authority of Texas undertook a comprehensive overhaul of the biosolids program for its Ten Mile Creek Regional Wastewater System. TRA chose innovative solutions that provide cost savings for customers, along with sound environmental stewardship.

The Biosolids Program evolved from the planning to remedy three significant issues facing the solids train at TMCRWS: • The approaching recurrance of the sludge surface disposal units cleanout, a difficult and costly step needed to periodically replenish sludge storage capacity; • Inadequate co-thickening of the WAS and

primary sludge; and • Operational issues at the anaerobic digesters.

Since its inception in 1969, TMCRWS had used on-site disposal of waste biosolids. However, as the storage capacity was filled, periodic cleaning was required to maintain storage capacity, since continued disposal unit expansion was not feasible. A previous cleanout had been expensive, involving the removal of the sludge material from the disposal units, dewatering the material in temporary facilities on site, loading the material into trucks, and hauling to a landfill for disposal. To avoid further recurrence of this expense and to eliminate the disposal units as a source of odors, the master plan analyzed options for a new way to process biosolids for disposal.

The chosen option, based upon a 20-year life-cycle analysis, was a new solids dewatering facility (SDF) utilizing centrifuges. Waste biosolids from the plant could be routed through the new SDF and then readily loaded into trucks or dumpsters for transportation to a landfill.

Another issue facing the plant was inadequate co-thickening of WAS and primary solids.

Conducted in two gravity thickeners, the cothickening process was not always effective, leading to large SRTs and high solids blankets. The master plan looked at changing the co-thickening process by including GBTs in the new SDF for exclusively thickening WAS, leaving primary sludge alone to be thickened in the existing gravity thickeners, improving the thickening effectiveness of both.

This new arrangement had the additional benefit of extending the life of the gravity thickeners.

This conversion of the solids thickening system accomplished by the SDF also provided benefits to the liquid treatment train. The new WAS storage

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tank (part of the SDF) and the thickening of only primary sludge in the gravity thickeners allow for greater flexibility of managing sludge blankets in the primary and final clarifiers for maximizing clarifier performance and reducing odors generated from those units. Biosolids are now fully contained throughout the train in equipment, pipes, and tanks.

Regarding the third issue, TMCRWS had for some time experienced operational issues with the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anaerobic digesters. Constant foaming problems led to numerous O&M headaches, and inconsistent heating compromised the effectiveness of the digestion process and produced variances in gas production. The master plan developed a strategy to refurbish the digester complex, replacing aged equipment and providing improvements in the digester roofs and heating to end the O&M issues and improve digestion performance. The refurbished digesters would also maximize gas production, which may provide opportunities for beneficial use. The plan included reusing the existing tankage, saving money. With the advent of the SDF, the digesters could be taken offline for the refurbishment construction, saving money and lessening impact on plant operations. The cost of refurbishment will be worth it: life cycle analyses show that the cost will pay off in 11 years, due mainly to the solids volume reduction the digestion process would accomplish, leading to cost reductions in hauling and disposal.

The first step in the Biosolids Program was design and construction of a new mechanical solids dewatering building. The dewatering/thickening complex is a two-story, approximately 12,000-sq-ft building designed for flexibility. The facility includes several cost-saving features for operational flexibility and contingency, such as a redundant screw conveyor that keeps the facility operational if one is down, two loadout bays with mechanized dumpsterveyors that easily allow full loading of each dumpster, and a personnel catwalk to provide ease and high visibility for operational observation rounds.

Storage is ample enough to limit SDF operation to 8-5, Monday through Friday.

As part of the co-thickening issue solution, WAS is pumped to a 40-foot diameter, 21- foot SWD

aerated WAS Tank (left). Gravity-thickened PS, as well as the thickened WAS, is pumped to a 65-footdiameter, 22-foot SWD jet-mixed and aerated blend tank. The bio-trickling filter (foreground) provides economical odor control on foul air from the blend tank and the centrifuge vents. It is also more environmentally friendly than chemical odor control units.

WAS is thickened by two 2.0-meter GBT units, which allows the existing gravity thickeners to thicken primary sludge only. Feed solids come in at approximately 0.5% on average, and are thickened to about 4.3%. Each GBT has a throughput capacity of 600 gpm.

Three 135- to 200-gpm centrifuges dewater the blended sludge. Space has been provided for a fourth unit. A 20-year period life cycle analysis, supported by pilot testing results, showed centrifuges to be the most cost-effective dewatering option for the SDF. Additionally, centrifuges keep the odors and corrosive gases contained, allowing for odor control treatment.

Support facilities include multiple PC pumps, jet motive pumps, blowers, hoppers, polymer blending and feed systems, overhead cranes, control room, office/storage, process lab, etc. Innovative approaches to these support facilities include large hoppers for capturing thickened WAS from the GBTs for pumping by the centrifuge feed pumps, affording weight control of those pumps and complete containment of the TWAS; VFD-controlled blowers for efficiently coping with varying tank levels; and a state-of-the-art polymer system that is computercontrolled and affords the flexibility of multiple concentrations and feed points. To maximize operational efficiency and minimize costs, most piping is contained on a level between the two floors, so it is out of the way of everyday operations. A scissor lift (included in the project) provides access when needed.

The construction cost was $14.5 million and the program has been operational since the summer of 2010. Recent performance data have indicated averaging at least 25% cake. The facility has been averaging approximately 37 tons/ day of dewatered solids, using about 11.9 lbs/ton of polymer. TRA operates the facility to first maximize the percent

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solids in the cake produced from the centrifuges, and secondly to minimize the polymer used. Some analytical tools have been developed to assist with achieving these goals, and a cost-benefit analysis is conducted annually to determine the most economical solids percentage to produce.

The Biosolids Program also afforded improvements to the TMCRWS liquid treatment train. With the SDF eliminating the need for the sludge disposal units, the Master Plan also considered possible alternate uses of these facilities. The disposal units represented a large footprint on the plant site and included existing levees. The Master Plan developed a plan for conversion of the disposal units to wet weather storage.

It was determined that approximately 21.5 million gallons could be obtained from the converted disposal units at a significantly reduced price as compared to building wet weather storage from scratch. Additionally, the storage flow conveyance into and out of the storage basin was configured to be by gravity, meaning the storage could be utilized even in a power outage, reducing the chance of SSOs.

The TMCRWS Biosolids Program has converted solids disposal practice with the new SDF and provided needed improvements to solids thickening, improving liquid train performance and reducing odors. Additionally, the program allows for the economical conversion of existing infrastructure to wet weather storage, helping to minimize CSOs. The conversion was accomplished by an innovative method of removing the biosolids from the storage lagoon and land applying in nearby fields. Future improvements will repeat this success with conversion of a second lagoon to wet weather storage and refurbishing the existing anaerobic digesters.

Benefits include tremendous cost savings on everything from transportation and disposal of sludge to construction and daily operations and maintenance. The wet weather basin will also protect the environment by preventing sanitary sewer overflows. Â Future plans include improvements to further decrease maintenance expenses and produce fuel to offset energy costs for the anaerobic digester heating process.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

SIDNEY L. ALLISON AWARD ...to a person or organization that has made significant contributions to the engineering, science, and/or operation and maintenance of wastewater collection and pumping stations with the mission to transport wastewater to a treatment plant.

San Antonio River Authority Wastewater Collections Department The SARA Utilities has established Management, Operations, and Maintenance (MOM) practices for all of its wastewater collection and treatment operations. The Collections Dept. members have the responsibility of the operations and maintenance of the collection system of three SARA owned Wastewater Treatment Plants, located in Northeastern Bexar County. It includes a total of 189.81 miles of wastewater collection system ranging from 6 to 42 inch diameter pipe consisting of various types of pipe including PVC, ductile iron, and vitrified clay. The Collections Dept. also operates

and maintains the Collection System at Randolph Air Force Base, which includes 32 miles of collection system line and nine lift stations. In addition to their normal duties the Collections Dept. also provides Community Assistance to the cities in SARAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four County area, helping the cities by providing sewer line cleaning, televising the collection system, and solving sewer line blockages. SARA provides ongoing training, and continues to improve its maintenance program with a focus on documentation, collection system inventory and mapping, and coordinating with wholesale and

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retail customers to reduce the likelihood of Inflow and Infiltration (1/1) within the system. SARA has two Vactor trucks that clean the entire system yearly and continuously clean problem areas.

The collection system inventory and mapping staff include two full time staff members having proficiency in GIS-based mapping and Auto-Cad software. Their efforts have significantly helped the field crews indentify locations of lines within the SARA system, as well as document repairs that have been made.

SARA also has a full-time crew, which consists of employees who are P ACP (Pipeline Assessment Certification Program) certified and specifically trained in video recording of collection lines and assessment of the collection line condition.

Equipment includes a CCTV video recording system installed in a van specifically equipped for this operation.

The Inspections crew consists of three full-time employees. Inspector’s primary duty is to assist the Utilities Assistant Development Superintendent, Utilities Development Superintendent in developing and maintaining a program of effective collection system construction and system rehab.

This is accomplished by inspecting construction of utilities capital improvement projects for compliance with plans and specifications for proper procedures required by SARA’s standard specifications for designed construction and compliance of Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulations. Investigates and answers public complaints and inquiries related to construction projects.

The Line Maintenance crews consists often full-time employees dedicated to collection system repair, construction, maintenance, system stoppage, repair of equipment and a eight inch Reclaimed Water line that runs from the Upper Martinez WWTP to Woodlake Country Club.

In 2011 SARA started the Salatrillo SSO Initiative Plan based upon a comprehensive sewer system evaluation performed on the Salatrillo Wastewater Treatment Plant Collection System, by InfraMetrix, LLC. Rehab done on the Salatrillo System for the SARA SSO Initiative Plan includes rehab of 11manholes with spray on epoxy liner and installation of new ring and covers. Rehabbed 1448 feet of

24” and 33” clay line by CIPP (Cast in Place Pipe) method. The rehabilitation of 1970 Feet of 8” clay line by installing 8” PVC pipe in its place, and replaced 9existing manholes with 9- new manholes with new ring and covers. The new manholes were also lined with epoxy coating.

In 2011 SARA started the SARA Wastewater Collection System SSO Initiative Plan based upon a comprehensive sewer system evaluation performed on the SARA Wastewater Collection System, by InfraMetrix, LLC. This will cover the collection systems of Upper Martinez WWTP and Martinez II WWTP. The methods used are described as follows: • Wastewater trunk lines were examined using robotic video equipment upstream and downstream of the manholes within the SARA wastewater collection system.

• A total of2127 manholes and 2316 pipelines were inspected using the CUES-IMX Zoom Camera system.

• A thorough report was prepared describing the status of the system.

The conclusions from the report were that 3% of the manholes and 9% of the pipelines needed immediate attention. The SSO Initiative Plan was budgeted to start in July 2011 thru June 2021.

Rehab done on the SARA WW System for the SARA SSO Initiative Plan includes rehab of 4manholes with epoxy spray on liner and installation of new ring and covers. The rehab of 500 feet of 21” ductile iron line by CIPP method, rehab 1008 feet of 24” clay line and 771 feet of 30” clay line by CIPP method, and also upsize 2535 feet of21” clay pipe to 24” PVC pipe by open cut method.

The installation of 5- new manholes with ring and covers and replaced 2- existing ring and covers with new ring and covers, and Spray coated the 7manholes with spray on epoxy liner.

Improvements also continue on the Randolph Air Force Base Collection System. We are entering into Year 9 of a 50 year Project that will renew or replace 75% of the collection system, including manholes, sewer mains, laterals, and lift stations.

Utilities Collections Dept. employees remain on call 24 hours a day, ready to respond to any customer emergency.

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WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

WINFIELD S. MAHLIE AWARD ...recognizing a member of WEAT who has made significant contributions to the art and science of wastewater treatment and water pollution control.

Gary L. Sober Gary was born for water -his father, granddads, and uncles brought him up in the outdoors around water and water activities. It was during these early childhood years, he learned to appreciate and love being in and near water. He also learned the importance of clean and healthy water for everyone to use and drink. Gary grew up loving to fish – it was then he thought his calling in life and lifelong dream was to own and operate a freshwater fishery.

He even got his Bachelors’ degree in zoology with a minor in fisheries from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Upon graduation he went to work for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. While there he was encouraged and mentored by Dempsey Hall, Director of Operator Training and certification for the state of Oklahoma and Richard Harrison, Dempsey’s right hand man, both were instrumental in guiding Gary towards the water utilities field. He spent the majority of his time working with EPA to teach people about NPDES permits and troubleshooting water and wastewater plants.

In 1980, Gary moved to Austin, TX and established Environmental Training, Inc. In 1983, Gary partnered with David James to develop Envir-O-Spec, Inc. The focus of the two companies was developing and implementing training courses in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and developing standard operating procedures for facilities. With the two companies, Gary managed operations of 30 water and wastewater systems in central Texas from 5,000 to 3.5 million gallons per day. As co-owner of these two companies, Gary supervised up to 8 full time employees and water/wastewater operators.

The water and wastewater operations business focused not only on maintenance of the systems, but also management of these utility districts. Gary ran the operations business successfully until 1997.

In 1989 in addition to his other duties, Gary began working with Byo-Gon, heading up the Research and Development area. His responsibilities included developing protocols for treating grease, odors and solids issues in municipal, industrial and commercial facilities. He also spent 3 months during the fall of 1990 working with the World Bank starting up water treatment facilities and training operators in the Middle East.

In 1997, Gary began working full time with ByoGon, Inc. In 2005, Gary became Vice President of Technology with Byo-Gon, Inc., and began researching products for remediation of soil contamination. Today, Gary continues to work in both of those capacities.

Numerous schools during the past 37 years of being in the water business, including EPA Operators Training (University of Cincinnati), Environmental Protection Agency Instructors Training, Texas Workforce Commission, TCEQ Instructors Workshops, and Texas Rural Water. He currently works with TCEQ as a subject matter expert for licensing requirements for water and wastewater operators, as well as their EnviroMentor Program.

Gary sits on the RPM Water Supply Corporation Board, near Chandler, TX, where he is a valued member as the only licensed operator on the board.

Gary is also a member of the Texas Water Utilities Association, and past President of the Capitol Area District of TWUA. Gary has served as Vice President, President, and most recently Section Representative for the Northeast Texas Section of WEAT. Gary has taught Water and Wastewater Operations for nearly 36 years. He continues to provide water and wastewater operations training classes through Environmental Training, Inc and

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through Texas Water Utilities Association Regional Schools. His current training focus is on activated sludge, biological nutrient removal, and operations of anaerobic digesters.

Gary has been an active member of WEAT in his North Texas Section. Gary was instrumental in getting North East WEAT back to an active chapter after moving to East Texas in 2003. Over the past 7 years in North East Texas, Gary has served as Vice President, President, and most recently Section Representative. Gary was influential in promoting and organizing the NE-WEAT Biennial Seminar, which brought together Operators, Engineers, Manufacturers, Equipment Reps and Industrial representatives. Gary is also on the Operations Challenge Committee for WEAT, were he serves as a Laboratory Event Judge and Fundraising captain.

Professional License • Registered Professional Sanitarian, State of Texas, No. 2113 • Registered Professional Sanitarian, State of Oklahoma, No. 498 • TCEQ Class A Wastewater License, No. 0002226

• TCEQ Class A Water License, No. 0004433 • OKLA DEQ A Water & Wastewater License Papers Presented • Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry: Sludge and Odor Reduction in Mill Waste • Water Environment Federation, Alabama Section: Grease and Odor Control • Water Environment Federation, Florida Section: Biological Stimulation for Odors and Grease • Water Environment Federation, Illinois Section: Green Approach to Problems • National Rural Water: Biological Stimulation • Awards • Presidents Award for Outstanding Service; Oklahoma Water Pollution and Control (Oklahoma Section of WEF) • LCRA Certificate Of Commendation in Recognition of and Appreciation for Exemplary Sewage Treatment Plant Operation of Calendar Year 1988: for the following Plants, Spicewood 1&2, Smithville and FCI Bastrop

Water Environment Association of Texas & TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

KEN MILLER WATER FOR PEOPLE FOUNDER’S AWARD The Kenneth J. Miller Founder’s Award was established in 2001 by the Board of Directors of Water For People to honor outstanding volunteer service to this international humanitarian effort.

Water For People was conceived as a North American response to the water, sanitation and health needs of millions of families living in the developing world.

From its beginnings, Water For People was envisioned to be a volunteer effort of the North American water community. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) leaders who organized Water For People believed that water professionals would recognize the urgent necessity to support such a cause by contributing their

financial assistance, organizational skills, and professional expertise. They have done this and as the organization grew and began to accomplish its vision of service, it became evident that extraordinary volunteer efforts were being made at the local level that should be publicly acknowledged and honored. The Ken Miller Water for People Founder’s Award was established to do this.

This will be the eighth year this award is given jointly by WEAT and Texas Section AWWA. The winner will be recognized by Water for People at the AWWA Annual Conference in Dallas. This award is kept a secret until the moment of the announcement at the Award’s Ceremony.

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Water Environment Association of Texas & TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

WATERMARK AWARDS MEMBER AWARD

The Watermark Award for communications excellence recognizes Texas Section AWWA and WEAT members who have produced top quality communications. Effective internal and external communication is essential to a member’s ability to provide excellent service. Today’s water resource professionals must communicate with a variety of audiences to achieve success. Through these awards, Texas Section AWWA and WEAT hope to heighten awareness among all water resource professionals about the importance of effective communication.

Category I: Communications programs: internal campaigns, external campaigns, crisis communications, community relations Large Utility City of Fort Worth Water Department: Take Back Meds Program

Until recently, Americans were advised to flush unwanted/expired medications down the toilet or to trash them mixed with kitty litter or coffee grounds.

Additionally, every day humans naturally discharge pharmaceuticals through body waste. Flushing or trashing them may cause ecological harm, and trace amounts are now in drinking water supplies.

In a proactive effort, the Water Department joined with the joined Code Compliance Department Solid Waste Division and the Police Department to create its first Take Back Meds Program. The goal is to not only to keep expired, unused, and unwanted prescription and over-thecounter medicines out of the water supply, but also to educate residents about the proper disposal of medications and to prevent accidental poisonings and drug abuse.

The pilot program involved one centrally located site for a four-hour period in 2010. It has grown to a semi-annual event with multiple locations and partners, including the North Texas Poison Control Center, Safe Kids Tarrant County, the Saginaw Police Department, the African American Health Expo and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The three events held since the inception of the program have resulted in the disposal of more than 1.5 tons of pharmaceuticals. Currently, Fort Worth is also working with Safe Communities America to explore the feasibility of permanent drug collection boxes in police or fire stations.

Non-utility: Tarrant Regional Water District & Dallas Water Utilities Lawn Whisperer Campaign DWU and TRWD joined forces to increase spending power and to expand the water conservation campaign by focusing on outdoor water use. The opportunity to reach a large population with a unified message of “no watering between 10 and 6”, and “ twice per week or less, is all your lawn needs” was the perfect vehicle to start changing behaviors and ideas of lawn care. The goal of the Lawn Whisperer character is to appeal to a broad range of audiences and spread a message that is both fun and informative.

Changing people’s behaviors and ideas of lawn care isn’t going to happen through condescending messages or talking down to homeowners proud of their lawns. Rather, the campaign has the lawn and plants tell the homeowner what they need.

The Lawn Whisperer spots were distributed across all media markets, network and cable television, radio, print ads, billboards, and social media beginning in the Spring of 2011.

In August when TRWD declared stage 1 drought restrictions, the Lawn Whisperer message quickly

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changed to “it’s a drought out there” and offered timely tips reduce water use. In the fall when temperatures began to drop, the message changed slightly to “it’s still a drought out there” to remind people of the current water situation.

Honorable Mention El Paso Water Utilities: Keep Alert, Keep Clear Campaign In recent years, El Paso has several drowning and near drowning in the Rio Grande, irrigation canals, storm water facilities and city streets.

Since El Paso Water Utilities owns many of those facilities, it believes it has a responsibility to kepp the community safe through education. During the Keep Alert, Keep Clear campaign, EPWU served as the lead agency in a partnership of similarly-minded stakeholder organizations.

Honorable Mention Austin Water Utilities 2011 Water Conservation Advertising Campaign In 2010, the Austin City Council set a goal to lower the total per capita demand to 140 gallons per capita per day by 2020. The campaign sought to guide customers into becoming wiser about water, seeing themselves making wise water conservation choices and raising their knowledge to the point of being an educated consumer and steward of this precious resource.

Honorable Mention Alan Plummer Associates Inc. Reclaimed Water Delivery System Public Awareness Program Arlington, Euless and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport collaborated with the city of Fort Worth to construct the first phase of a reclaimed water system that would be served by Fort Worth’s Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility. Fort Worth contracted with Alan Plummer Associates to evaluate and then design the 18MGD pump station and 11.5 mile pipeline. To

ensure consistent information and messaging were provided to the public, the four entities partnered to pursue common tasks associated with a public awareness campaign. APAI facilitated this process that include website content development, a brochure, common signage as required by TCEQ and a common logo.

Category II. Periodicals: magazines or newsletters.

Non-utility: Trinity River Authority Dealing With The Drought Newletter Story Series The 2011 drought had numerous impacts on residents of the Trinity River basin. Water resources declined, triggering water supply systems to restrict use. Soils shrank and contracted, causing inground concrete and asphalt structures to crack.

Landscaping and trees suffered and sometimes died.

The Trinity River Authority’s public information division sought to educate its stakeholder audiences about ongoing drought conditions as well as their impacts on water supply systems. The Public Information Department wanted to help customers and residential users understand the important reasons behind water restrictions and help them effectively use less water on their lawns and landscaping.

TRA’s resources for basin-wide communications include the inTRA stakeholder newsletter published bimonthly for the benefit of TRA’s board of directors, employees, customers, consultants, vendors and other interested parties.

The June/July 2011 issue featured a graphic showing most of the state in exceptional drought conditions on the cover. Inside, two stories detailed water conditions in the Northern and Southern regions of the basin as well as possible impending water restrictions.

The important reasons behind water restrictions were explained in the August/September 2011 issue of inTRA, as well as Stage 1 water limit rules.

In addition, a question-and-answer-style article

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detailed the effects of the ongoing drought on Lake Livingston and provided information on the lake’s operational procedures. Another newsletter story reported reader-nominated Texas-tough plants able to withstand extreme heat and drought.

The October/November 2011issue featured two drought-related stories focusing on the possibility of drought conditions persisting into 2012, as well as the impacts that long-term dry spells have on the water and wastewater industry.

For added recognition, the cover and inside pages feature photos of the first place winners with their parents. A new cover concept was introduced in 2012, which involved staging a work environment photo that featured the winners with their parents. The photo focused on workers practicing safety while operating SAWS equipment in the field. Each winner and the parents wore safety gear including hard hats, safety vests, gloves and safety-related boots.

Honorable Mention Guadalupe Blanco River Authority River Run

Small Utility: City of Waco Water Utility Services 2010 Consumer Confidence Report

River Run magazine is produced three times a year in an effort to keep individuals in GBRA’s statutory district informed of events happening at the state and local level that may also affect them.

Each issue of River Run includes articles featuring current water issues, community service activities, conservation news, operations and employee activities and training.

The City of Waco Water Utility Services uses the Water Quality Report to meet the annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement and to inform and educate citizens on a variety of topics, such as water conservation, storm water pollution prevention, fats, oils and grease, current projects and special initiatives. In addition, the utility uses the report to create positive feelings and cultivate an image of professionalism and superior quality.

The vast majority of the citizens are unaware of the long and illustrious history of the city’s water system. As the utility’s 100-year anniversary approaches, the city, and specifically the utility, is making a considerable effort to tell its story and relate the history of Waco water. The design, layout and content of this report is intended to evoke nostalgic feelings of the past and inform citizens of the lengthy history of the water system.

Category III. Publications: annual reports, annual water quality reports, brochures, direct mail materials and other multi-page publications.

Large Utility: San Antonio Water System 2012 Safety Calendar Every year SAWS produces and distributes a calendar to all employees. The overall goal of the calendar is to reach employees with a monthly outlook on safety, as well as paydays, holidays and SAWS history.

This calendar features the safety-related drawings of SAWS employees’ children. The Safety Steering committee holds a poster competition to choose the 12 winners, whose drawings are used.

Prize money is awarded to four first place winners and eight second place winners.

Non-utility: Trinity River Authority 2010 Annual Report Every year, the publication of TRA’s annual report is an opportunity to convey the important work Trinity River Authority projects perform, as well as the value they bring to customers. Since it began publication in 1980, the annual report has followed much the same format, typically using a dominant photo of the Trinity River as the cover image.

For the fiscal year 2010, TRA management

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challenged its public information division to update the report’s look and feel, shedding the customary appearance and developing a contemporary design.

With most of the budget consumed by printing and distribution, the Public Information Department combined available image resources to create a fresh look. The designer made extensive use of the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, available courtesy of the University of Texas, a database of high-resolution, color-enhanced satellite imagery.

The report cover featured a digitally cut the shape of the Trinity River basin from the eastern third of the state, resulting in an accurate satellite image of the basin with areas of water, vegetation and development delineated. This cover image establishes a theme supported by matching barshaped satellite images repeated as headers and footers on each page of the narrative.

Colorful charts convey financial figures along with wastewater and water flow data. Aerial photos of TRA projects, as well as ground-level images of project architecture and facilities, serve to illustrate the narrative. In addition, candid photos of wildlife, architectural structures and geological formations snapped from the riverbed and banks during an extensive 2010 survey of the main stem of the Trinity River were used.

Honorable Mention Guadelupe Blanco River Authority Clean Rivers Program 2011 Basin Highlights Report Summer signals a significant increase in outdoor water use. Research shows 75% of residents in the northern quadrant of the city have automatic sprinkler systems. In order to increase its outreach efforts to reach this critical audience, DWU implemented a direct mail pilot program consistent with the “Message from” public awareness campaign that was underway. A six-piece direct mail program provided a repetitive message from mid-June through mid September. 2010 research indicated a higher percentage of respondents in the targeted area acknowledged direct mail as one of media by which they received conservation messaging, as compared to other parts of the city.

Honorable Mention City of Fort Worth Water Department 2010 Water Quality Report Both state and federal regulations require annually notifying all customers about the quality of their drinking water. The drinking water quality data can be very complex and confusing, but the report must be presented in a format that is easy for all customers to understand. The goal was to present accurate, easily understandable water quality information to all residents, even those who do not receive a bill, in a user-friendly format. The objective is to design a bilingual piece customers want to read.

Category IV. Online communications: websites, Facebook, Twitter, online newsletters, etc.

Large Utility: El Paso Water Utilities Successfully Building and Implementing a Social Media Strategy Even before adopting a formal strategy, EPWU was irrevocably involved with social media: Its policies, programs and initiatives were the subject of videos posted on You Tube, messages sent on Twitter and discussions taking place on Facebook.

Most of the mentions failed to uphold the utility’s key messages, while many actively sought to undermine them. Missing from the conversation was a voice committed to spreading accurate information to EPWU customers engaged in social media.

EPWU’s communication’s staff added a former broadcast journalist and an early adopter of social media. Drawing on his experience staff carefully crafted a policy which allows the utility to fully engage social media as a tool to communicate accurate, unaltered information directly to

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customers, opinion leaders and other stakeholders.

Because the utility’s social media strategy must marry seamlessly with the utilities broader strategic goals, it was approved by the president and CEO only after consultation with legal services, human resources and information services departments.

EPWU is producing its own videos in-house and using You Tube to deliver time sensitive information at the peak of its relevance. The first You Tube video was uploaded on July 20, 2011. The first tweet was on Nov. 18 of last year.

Non-Utility: Tarrant Regional Water District & Dallas Water Utilities Lawn Whisperer Campaign The goal of the Lawn Whisperer character is to appeal to a broad range of audiences and spread a message that is both fun and informative. The Lawn Whisperer is neither intimidating nor timid, and generally jovial.

In addition to using the traditional media outlets, a Lawn Whisperer Facebook page was created as a platform for presenting tips for lawn and landscape care, posting informative articles regarding water conservation, posting videos, and most importantly, public interaction. Today, the Lawn Whisperer page has 1,342 fans and is still growing.

Based on a statistical model developed by TRWD’s Chief Engineer and a consulting firm, TRWD attributes about 8 percent water savings from water conservation. A large part of this comes from the Lawn Whisperer and the Save Water, nothing can replace it campaigns.

Category V. School curriculums Non-Utility: Trinity River Authority Waters to the Sea: The Trinity River

While TRA, submitted the award application, there are 17 other sponsors/collborators of this program and we want to recognize them.

Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. American Water Works Association Texas Section City of Dallas Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport EPA Region 6 City of Fort Worth Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau Freese and Nichols, Inc. City of Irving KERA Marty Leonard North Central Texas Council of Governments North Texas Municipal Water District Tarrant Regional Water District University of North Texas Upper Trinity Regional Water District Water Environment Association of Texas The Trinity River watershed is the largest entirely within Texas. It, flows more than 700 miles through two of Texas’ greatest cities, Dallas and Fort Worth, and ends just east of Houston. Every day it affects the lives of millions of people. While it is an important resource, it is also regarded as one of Texas’ dirtiest watersheds. Thus has emerged a need to educate students and citizens about their watershed, including both conservation and stewardship of water quality.

The group partnered with the Center for Global Environmental Education (CGEE) at Hamline University, which had created a Waters to the Sea, interactive, educational, multimedia resource for two other watersheds. This resource could be customized for the Trinity River watershed and used to educate primarily in schools, but also in public venues via kiosks and online.

Production started in 2008 and was completed

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in October 2010. The program uses interactive storytelling featuring historical characters and regional stories to engage users and to convey the history of human interactions with the region’s water resources. Its media includes extensive video, audio, regional music, animations, graphical visualizations, dynamic maps, and interactive simulations. The targeted audience for the program is students in grades 4 through 8 and their teachers.

Category VII. Audio and visual: videos, DVDs, slide shows, Power Point presentations, etc.

Large Utility: San Antonio Water System 2011 End of Year Video The year-end video gave SAWS an opportunity to show its employees, board of trustees, ratepayers and other stakeholders the special events that helped make 2011 a very successful year.

Under its new campaign of San Antonio is Water’s Most Resourceful City, the video presented some very important messages about sustainability.

It emphasized how SAWS staff executed the year with precision and attention to operational efficiencies and productivity.

A voiceover track was generated from the provided script and mixed with music to provide the sound bed. Then dozens of video clips, taken throughout the year and featuring our employees as spokespersons, were animated and timed to the audio.

Individual computer animations were later generated for the main opening, closing and throughout the video to add energy and movement.

Sound effects were finally laid in to polish it.

The video was shown to the Board of Trustees and public audience during a board meeting, and SAWS staff viewed the video during an employee meeting with the CEO. The video also is online at www.saws.org/video.

Small Utility: City of Waco Water Utility Services Partnership Education Video In anticipation of losing 40 percent of its workforce in the next 10 years, the city of Waco Water Utility Services partnered with Waco ISD to initiate a program that will allow students to obtain a Water Operator license upon graduation. The yearlong program provides students the opportunity to learn about water systems and gain the knowledge and TCEQ approved credit hours required to sit for the initial state licensing exam.

In its first year, 12 students from a local high school attended classroom lectures on basic water operations twice each week and took a monthly field trip to different water operations sites. The field trips provide opportunities for hands on experience in water testing, water treatment processes, lab sampling, meter maintenance, line repair and valve operations.

The Partnership for Water Education is multifaceted and difficult to explain, particularly to anyone unfamiliar with a water utility. The video was determined ast the best approach to illustrate the students’ experiences. Several versions were made to target specific audiences – possible future participants, other utilities or the public in general.

Non-Utility: Trinity River Authority of Texas Presentation Branding & Graphics Standards To mark the beginning of a new decade and a transition in top leadership, the Trinity River Authority sought to update the look and feel of its communications tools. In late 2010, TRA’s website went through a complete redesign with updated information, new photography and interactive features.

TRA’s public information division then undertook the design and implementation of an updated set of PowerPoint presentation templates.

One, for external use, would match the new website design to present a unified message and

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theme across all outward-looking materials. The audience would primarily be customer city advisory committees and other groups seeking to learn about the Trinity River Authority.

An additional template design was developed for internal and technical use that reflects TRA’s operational projects. The audience would be TRA’s board of directors, employees and consultants.

The external slideshow recreated graphical elements featured on the new website and added new photography captured during a recent river survey. Graphic designers established a family of colors based on these elements and used them to develop templates for slides featuring titles, bullet lists, photos, drawings and charts. The second presentation slideshow used the same family of colors but incorporates photography of TRA’s water and wastewater facilities and their components.

To maintain a consistent appearance for both presentations, the Public Information Division established standards governing font choice, color and size, in addition to other graphical elements such as border width and use of shadows. These graphic standards have been compiled into a userfriendly manual and made available to guide all staff in preparing slideshows.

Honorable Mention El Paso Water Utilities Carlos M. Ramirez TecH20 Water Resources Learning Center As part of its total water management commitment, EPWU opened the Carlos M. Ramirez TecH2O Water Resources Learning Center in 2008.

EPWU continues tp seek ways to increase awareness of and visits to the center. The utility produced a video to take customers on a virtual tour without requiring them to leave their home or office. The video includes age appropriate information about groundwater resources, in-home conservation, Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife and desalination technology.

Honorable Mention City of McAllen Public Utility Backflow Prevention Ordinance Video

In October 2011, McAllen revised its backflow prevention policy to have stricter guidelines for installation and maintenance of backflow prevention devices and annual testing of these devices.

To inform residents of the new policy, MPU teamed with the city cable television group to produce a video that airs regularly on the city cable channel, is posted on You Tube and airs on monitors stationed throughout City Hall. The video not only discuss the new ordinance requirements, it educates customers about the importance of the devices and why they are needed.

Honorable Mention Tarrant Regional Water District Trout Fishing in the Trinity Video TRWD is primarily focused on managing water supplies for nearly two million people residing within its service area. However, flood control and recreation are two other key components of the District’s mission. As an extension of that mission, TRWD works with local organizations to enhance the community use of the Trinity River and the 40+ miles of hike and bike trails that line the floodway.

One of the ways the District draws people to the river is through an urban fishing program, which involves trout releases during the winter in certain sections of the Trinity River. This is the 20th year of the program, and it’s one way TRWD gives back to the community it serves.

Category VIII. Miscellaneous: photography, logos, onetime advertisements, posters, illustrations, invitations.

Large Utility: City of Fort Worth Water Department Stage 1 Watering Schedule Magnet For the first time ever, Fort Worth had to implement its emergency water management

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plan because of dropping water supply levels.

The plan has been implemented before, but those incidents related to system issues such as a major main break. Those incidents were short-lived and restrictions lasted only a few days to a week. Also, the restrictions involved jumping to Stage 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; eliminating all outdoor watering.

The drought in 2011 presented a new challenge how to communicate the Stage 1 watering schedule to all account holders. 2007 revisions to the drought plan triggers created the probability that we would reach Stage 1 once every five years. Tarrant Regional Water Districting was projecting we would hit the Stage 1 trigger of 75 percent water supply about the beginning of September.

The objective was to provide customers accurate, easily understandable outdoor watering schedule information. Fort Worth wanted to provide something customers they could keep handy to reference. It decided to mail the schedule in a postcard format with a tear-off magnetic schedule. The goal was compliance with the Stage 1 requirements, and the first step was to make sure customers understood the rules. It was decided to incorporate the Lawn Whisperer into the piece since there was already a familiarity with him amongst the public.

Small Utility: City of Waco Water Utility Services 2012 Lake Waco Wetlands Calendar When the Waco City Council decided in 2000 to raise the lake level by seven feet to provide an additional 20,000-acre-feet of water supply, the Lake Waco Wetlands were created to mitigate habitat loss. With the addition of the Research and Education Center, it has grown to become an important living laboratory for research, education and recreation.

The calendar is produced to promote the wetlands to the public, garner positive attention, endear potential donors to the non-profit cause and highlight the beauty and positive aspects of the project. The calendar also promotes storm water pollution prevention information. Tips are placed throughout the calendar, advising citizens of ways to reduce storm water pollution.

A contest is held to solicit photographs for the calendar. All photographs were taken at the wetlands by local photographers. The Lake Waco Wetlands Board of Advisors selects the 13 winning photographs.

The calendar is sponsored by four entities in addition to the City of Waco. It is distributed at various locations municipal locations around the city.

Non-Utility: Tarrant Regional Water District Water Conservation Display Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) is one of the largest water suppliers in the state of Texas. It provides untreated surface water to more than 70 cities and other water user groups across eleven North Texas counties. Its primary customers include the cities of Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield and the Trinity River Authority. In April 2011, the District was invited to participate in an exhibition for the opening of the new building for the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).

We created this display to highlight the water district, water supplies, and the importance of water conservation. The custom seven panel exhibit was displayed in the BRIT building in the main exhibit area for the duration of the summer. It remains on display in other parts of the building today.

The purpose of this display was to share information about the Water District and water conservation. The display was divided in five sections - each focused on a different topic. From left to right the sections focused on lawns/smart irrigation, native plants/Texas Smartscapes, TRWD water supplies/flood control/recreation, indoor water savings, and sustainability/water reuse. The idea was to create panels that could be shown sideby-side as one big display or broken into various smaller combinations and exhibited in a stand-alone fashion without losing the context of the messages.

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TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

MEMBERSHIP AWARDS The Texas Section AWWA recognizes three members for their outstanding recruitment efforts that help maintain the Texas Section’s leadership as the largest single state Section of AWWA’s fortythree Sections. The Section’s continued growth is a testimony to meeting the needs of water professionals statewide.

Donna Howe Charles Anderson Richard Talley

TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS MAVERICK AWARD This year, the Texas Section AWWA will continue what will become a long tradition in recognizing one of our Young Professionals as an up and coming leader of the organization. The Maverick Award recognizes an outstanding Young Professional within the Texas Section of AWWA who exemplifies exceptional qualities in the following areas: Volunteerism, Community Involvement,

Leadership, and Outstanding Service in the science of water supply, treatment, operations, and quality.

Young Professionals are those individuals who are a member of AWWA under the age of 35 who work or are involved in the water industry.

This award is kept a secret until the moment of the announcement at the Award’s Ceremony.

TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

WATER CONSERVATION AND REUSE AWARDS Each year, the Texas Section AWWA Conservation and Reuse Division recognizes those who have demonstrated excellence in Water Conservation and Reuse Practices.

Large Utility Direct Program: City of Fort Worth Water Department Village Creek Water Reclaimed Water System (Eastern Segment) Water reuse has been identified as a best management practice for water conservation by the water conservation implementation task force established by the 78th Texas Legislature under Senate Bill 10942. Therefore, in addition to other water conservation efforts, Fort Worth has

developed its water reuse program to provide for efficient use of Fort Worth’s water resources and assist Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) in securing necessary future water supplies to meet anticipated growth within the city of Fort Worth and surrounding areas.

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According to population projections from the 2005 Fort Worth water master plan update, the city’s population is expected to exceed 1,000,000 by the year 2025. As a result of this population growth, and growth of customer cities within the city’s water service area, average day water demands are expected to increase to 332 MGD (371,840 acrefeet/year) and maximum day demands are expected to increase to nearly 700 MGD (780,640 acre-feet/ year). This growth will result in the need for development of additional water supplies by trwd, and additional water treatment and distribution facilities by the city. Substitution of reclaimed water for potable water usage will help to defer the need for additional raw water supplies and potable water treatment and distribution facilities.

Fort Worth’s Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility (VCWRF) discharges approximately 110 MGD of treated effluent on an annual average basis, and most of this is currently available for supply to additional reclaimed water projects, providing more than enough water to meet projected direct nonpotable reclaimed water demands for the city.

In 2007, Fort Worth completed a reclaimed Water Priority And Implementation Plan. The plan evaluated potential for direct non-potable reuse and identified five potential service areas for water reuse projects. Within each of these service areas, the potential reclaimed water customers and demands were identified. The most viable was the eastern area because of the proximity of the reclaimed water source to potential users.

The cities of Arlington and Euless and DFW Airport were identified in the 2007 plan as potential users and all expressed strong interest in Fort Worth implementing the eastern reuse system identified in the 2007 study. Negotiations with these potential wholesale customers focused on refining the demand projections identified in the 2007 study, developing a rate structure and drafting long-term contracts.

In 2010, the city of Fort Worth began construction of an 11.5-mile reclaimed water

pipeline and pump station to provide water to three wholesale customers. As constructed, the system can pump 12 MGD with the potential to expand to 18 MGD. The pipeline also had the potential to serve some retail customers as well. The pipeline originates at the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility and ends at the southern edge of Dallas/ Fort Worth international airport. The wholesale customers are Arlington, Euless and DFW Airport.

The project was completed in 2011.

Realizing public education was an important component, Fort Worth, Arlington, Euless and DFW Airport decided to coordinate efforts, with Fort Worth taking the lead. The entities agreed to use identical signs that allowed for swapping out the logo as necessary. Information was put up on a website and all entities agreed to link their information. A common brochure was developed, again with only the logo changing.

Euless and Arlington will use the reclaimed water primarily for landscape irrigation and dfw airport plans to use the reclaimed water for its cooling towers, providing a year-round demand.

Fort Worth also added one retail connection to the line – Chesapeake Energy used the water for drilling and hydraulic fracturing of a gas well located near the reclaimed water line.

Total reclaimed water consumption for April 2011 through December 2011 was 217.6 million gallons: 59.8 MG by Euless, 44.2 MG by Arlington, 6 MG by Chesapeake Energy, and 147.6 MG by Waterchase Golf Course. This 2011 reclaimed water use resulted in Fort Worth not purchasing 153,706,520 gallons of raw water from tarrant regional water district and the savings associated with not treating the water to drinking water standards. Reclaimed water use by Arlington and Euless also provided savings for Tarrant Regional Water District, which in turn benefits Fort Worth by decreasing the demands on the region’s overall water supply. Since this was a historic drought year and water supply levels were very low, any savings of raw water supplies was important.

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Small Utility Direct Program: City Of Round Rock Toilet Rebate Program The city of Round Rock’s efficient toilet rebate program is the first of its kind for Round Rock. The program offers rebates of up to $100 per toilet for new water sense labeled toilets for city of Round Rock water customers with homes built prior to 1996. The toilet pilot program was approved initially for the summer of 2010 and has since been offered again in the winter of 2011 and winter of 2012. The program is based on funding, which leaves the date that the program ends pretty open. Rebates are offered seasonally and so far, the program has run out of funds each time within three months of its start date, which is a huge accomplishment.

Round Rock has experienced tremendous growth both in population and development in the last twenty years, and continues to grow, serving a population of about 101,000. Approximately 8,130 of the single-family residences were built in Round Rock prior to 1995—before the plumbing code changes regarding the 1.6 Gpf toilet. This is a number that could realistically be reduced before the plumbing code changes in 2014 to mandate the 1.28 Gpf toilets.

The program was promoted through free, local sources: messages on the monthly water bill, articles in the bill stuffer, a news story feature on local tv channel 10, and articles on the city of Round Rock website. Conservation staff also visited local plumbing suppliers and spoke to them about the program.

To date 553 toilets have been replaced through the rebate program. The average year built of the properties that have participated is 1980. Assuming the toilets that were replaced were the original toilets, that calculates to over 1,383 gallons saved on just one flush! If each toilet is flushed four times a day, that’s over 5,500 gallons per day, which is over 2 million gallons saved a year. This is huge success for a low budgeted effort.

The total rebated amount thus far has been $46,000. One staff member has been responsible for the program administration. The program is self-funding, in that the money used to provide the rebates is revenue generated from the tier ii water rates. When the increased water rates and designation of a second water tier was approved by city council in fy 08-09, the additional revenue generated was designated for water conservation and reuse programs, so the customers consuming water above the tier ii level (18,000 gallons) are paying for this program. This also guarantees a water conservation education budget for the next year.

The toilet rebate program is going to continue to be offered through 2013. Round Rock water customers are happy about it, thankful for the program, and continue to ask for it when it is not being offered.

Large Utility Indirect Program: El Paso Water Utilities Landscape Education & Turf Rebate Program: An Old Strategy That Continues Yielding Results The El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) water conservation program, started in 1991, is credited with much of the city’s success in reducing per capita consumption. The program combines enforcement, education, and incentives. EPWU

offers workshops and free water audits, while enforcing water restrictions mandated by a strict water conservation ordinance. Conservation messages are also reinforced through marketing and advertising. However, a major component of the

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program’s success was the turf rebate. From 2001 – 2007, EPWU offered cash incentives to customers who replaced thirsty lawns with water-efficient landscapes. Ten years later, EPWU still reaps watersaving benefits from retrofitted landscapes and staff’s continuing efforts to educate the public.

By the late 1980’s groundwater models indicated that heavy pumping was depleting the reserves of the hueco-bolson aquifer, a major source of El Paso’s water for decades. El Paso implemented a 50-year water resource management plan in 1991 that recommended diversifying water resources and reducing demand through a program that used public information and education to promote water awareness and conservation. The plan also suggested offering rebates as incentives for replacing existing lawns with water-efficient landscaping, to cut down on landscape irrigation water use.

EPWU recognized the importance of educating the public to eliminate wasteful water practices and promote water-efficient landscapes. EPWU trained a core group of “water smart” volunteers to conduct landscape audits at city parks and school athletic fields, starting from a grant with the texas agricultural extension service to offer xeriscape information to the public. This training was based on the successful master gardener program in which participants volunteer a certain number of hours to help disseminate information. In subsequent years, the utility invested in printed materials and public workshops to increase awareness and appreciation of the chihuahuan desert with a focus on conservation and regional water resources.

Seminars, booths at city events, bill inserts, and free water audits helped educate the public; however, there was a need for information on plants, trees and shrubs adapted to this region. In 1998, EPWU secured a grant from the Bureau Of Reclamation and worked with the University Of Texas at El Paso, New Mexico State University and Texas A&M Research Center to develop the “desert blooms” cd-rom, featuring more than 400 trees, shrubs, groundcovers, grasses and flowers that

are adapted or native to the Chihuhauan Desert.

By 2000, per capita water use had decreased from 200 gpcd in 1991 to 159; however, new incentive programs were needed to reach the new goal of 140 gpcd in 2010. In 2001, EPWU implemented a turf rebate program to help reduce water consumption to 140 gallons per capita per day (gpcd) by 2010.

EPWU’s turf rebate pilot program began in 2001 with a budget of $500,000 and offered turf rebates of $0.50 Per square foot of established grass that was removed and replaced with environmentally sensitive, water-saving landscape materials. Residential and commercial customers who participated during the pilot program saved 23 million gallons per year of water. Eventually the rebate was increased to $1.00 Per square foot and the program was advertised through brochures, the EPWU website, and newspaper and television.

A survey by stratus consulting found that the most cost-effective and efficient means of advertising was by word of mouth. Respondents to the survey indicated that they participated in the turf rebate program to conserve water, reduce the water bill, reduce the amount of time spent maintaining the lawn, and make the landscape look more similar to the native environment. More than 60 percent of customers surveyed had not considered the converting their landscapes before hearing about the rebate. Another 13 percent of the respondents indicated that they were interested in water-efficient landscaping, but would not have proceeded if the rebate had not been available.

Overall, 96 percent of the respondents were glad they had participated in the program.

EPWU has achieved a remarkable decrease in per capita consumption despite a 15.2 Percent population increase over the past decade. The 2010 goal of 140 gpcd established in 2000 has been met and surpassed as per enclosed graph. Between 2001 and 2007 when the turf rebate program ended, more than 11 million square feet of grass was removed from more than 3,000 sites, including 243 commercial sites. Water savings from the turf rebate and landscape education programs is 894 million gallons per year.

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Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

Small Utility Indirect Program: City Of Round Rock Central Texas Water Efficiency Network The Central Texas Water Efficiency Network (CTWEN) was created in april 2011 after a oneday symposium sponsored by several central texas water purveyors and suppliers: the cities of Round Rock, San Marcos, and Cedar Park, Austin Water, the LCRA, the Sierra Club, and the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Authority. These entities funded, staffed, and presented at a one day event in March 2011, called “The Business Case For Water Conservation.” It was a huge success with approximately 200 people in attendance! Attendees were asked at the end of the symposium if they would be interested in joining a regional water efficiency group.

Out of that symposium, an “interested party” list was created of about forty folks that wanted to be involved with furthering the cause of water efficiency. The group was created and named after the Water Efficiency Network of North Texas (WENNT), and comprised of water conservation specialists and advocates from various water utilities, municipalities, muds, environmental, and non-profit organizations. The CTWEN group held its first meeting in May 2011 and has been meeting nearly monthly ever since. The location is rotated each time, with each entity hosting the meeting

each month. The purpose has been defined as the following: to openly and actively share information and promote water efficiency education, legislation, programs, technologies, and all other integral components of water conservation in order to regionally have an impact on water supplies and use. The only real position is the chairperson who creates the agenda for each meeting and keeps things moving. Several subcommittees have been formed to work on the group’s web page, yard sign project, and the 2012 symposium. There are no membership dues or requirements to attend; it is all strictly voluntary for the sake of information sharing and collaboration.

This group is a wonderful source of support and collaboration. In addition to discussing problems and future plans and projects, CTWEN has funded and printed yard signs promoting wise outdoor water use. The signs are available in nearly all the central Texas towns that are involved in the CTWEN. This gives the region cohesiveness during the drought. The signs have a qr code to the CTWEN webpage and facebook page. As CTWEN continues to grow, its goal is to continue to collaborate and educate its own customers, as well as the central texas region, to become water stewards.

Bob Derrington Water Reclamation Award: City of Fort Worth Water Department Village Creek Water Reclaimed Water System (Eastern Segment) (See write-up for Large Utility Direct Winner)

Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

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The following awards are presented Thursday in the Exhibit Hall following each competition.

Water Environment Association of Texas & TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

COMPETITION AWARDS Both TAWWA and WEAT will recognize the winners of the operator competitions that take place in the Exhibit Hall on Wednesday or Thursday.

TAWWA Competition Awards WEAT Competition Awards Pipe Tapping Operations Challenge Meter Madness (Process Control, Pump Maintenance, Safety, Top Ops Laboratory & Collection System events) Best Tasting Drinking Water The following takes place at the Night in Old Sn Antonio at La Villita Maverick Plaza, 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12.

WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS

PRESIDENT’S SERVICE AWARDS Each year the outgoing President of WEAT recognizes members for their service to the organization during the president’s term. This

year, outgoing President David Briggs will recognize members for their service during the past year.

TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

CHAIR’S SERVICE AWARDS Each year the outgoing Chair of the Texas Section AWWA recognizes Section members for their service to the Section during the chair’s

term. This year, outgoing Chair David Scholler will recognize a group of key members who have served the Section during the past year.

Water Environment Association of Texas & TEXAS SECTION - AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP Outgoing WEAT PresidentDavid Briggs and outgoing TAWWA Chair David Scholler will welcome their successors, John Bennett for

WEAT, and Brent Locke for TAWWA, into their new leadership roles.

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Texas Water 2012SM Awards Program

Congratulations to all our winners

Save the dates: Texas Water 2013SM April 9-12, 2013 Galveston, Texas