People/Awards
Joyce Ruocco, a clerk in the Wastewater Division of the Department of Public Works, was named October Employee of the Month in Milford, Connecticut, for “her outstanding work performance, dedicated service to the city, and her professional and positive attitude.”
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies honored the City of Tulsa (Oklahoma) Lower Bird Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant with a Platinum Peak Performance Award.
The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department received an award from the Design-Build Institute of America-Florida Region for a cogeneration facility improvements project at the South District Wastewater Treatment Plant. Brown & Caldwell, with design-build partner Poole & Kent, replaced the existing cogeneration system with state-of-the-art equipment that generates almost three times the electricity without discharging additional air pollutants.
The Cedartown (Georgia) City Commission approved a plan to honor a local family by renaming the wastewater treatment facility after J.L. Wright, one of the city’s longtime employees. Wright had a 35-year career that ended with his retirement in 1976.
Mars Chocolate North America was recognized by the Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association with an Outstanding Operation Award for industrial pretreatment.
The Kansas Water Environment Association presented the City of El Dorado with the Crystal Crucible Award for contributions to the wastewater laboratory, and the Biosolids Award for exceptional quality treatment of biosolids.
Jim R. Burris, chief operator for the City of Wood River Water Treatment Plant, was named Groundwater Operator of the Year by the Illinois Potable Water Supply Operators Association and the Illinois EPA.
Connecticut Water Co. received the 2015 Management Innovation Award from the National Association of Water Companies for its efforts to protect customers against criminal imposters.
The Borough Council of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, hired John Ruth as an operator for its membrane water filtration plant.
Richard Sanders of Broadway Water & Sewerage was named Water Operator of the Year by the South Carolina Rural Water Association.
The City of Abilene, Texas, named Rodney Taylor as Water Utilities director. Taylor has more than 27 years of experience in municipal water utility operations.
James “Moon” Tom was recognized by 200 of his peers and associates at the First Nations Operators Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, as he retired as water treatment operator in Ahousat after 40 years.
The City of Rome, New York, received the 2015 Environmental Project of the Year Award from the CNT Branch of the American Public Works Association for its $5.2 million Water Filtration Plant Improvements Project.
The Cork County Council won the Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award for the Clonakilty Wastewater Treatment Plant project at the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards. The Kerry Group Global Technology & Innovation Centre in County Kildare was voted Engineering Project of the Year by the Irish public.
The Lewisville Water Treatment Plant staff received a Texas Optimization Program Award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for meeting stringent drinking water quality standards. Lewisville is one of two plants that have met the criteria continuously for the past 10 years.
The American Public Works Association Oregon Chapter named the City of Gresham as winner of the Public Works Project of the Year in the Environmental category for its Cogeneration Expansion Project, which allowed the plant to attain net zero energy status.
TPO welcomes your contributions to this listing. To recognize members of your team, please send notices of new hires, promotions, service milestones, certifications or achievements to editor@tpomag.com.
Events
Feb. 1-5 - AMTA/AWWA Membrane Technology Conference & Exposition, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas. Visit www.awwa.org.
Feb. 3-4 - AWWA Hawaii Section Conference, Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu. Visit www.awwa-hi.org.
Feb. 8-10 - New York Water Environment Association Annual Conference and Exhibition, New York Marriott Marquis. Visit www.nywea.org.
Feb. 9 - Central States Water Environment Association-Minnesota Section Innovative Operations Conference, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Visit www.cswea.org.
Feb. 17-20 - Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT) Show, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis. Visit www.wwettshow.com.
Feb. 23 - AWWA 2016 YP Chair Training, Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Visit www.awwa.org.
Feb. 24-25 - 49th International Conference on Water Management Modeling, Marriott Courtyard Toronto. Visit www.chiwater.com.
Feb. 24-27 - Utility Management 2016, presented by the WEF, AWWA and California Water Environment Association, Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. Visit www.wef.org.
Feb. 29-March 2 - Illinois Water Environment Association Annual Conference, iHotel and Conference Center, Champaign. Visit www.iweasite.org.
March 7-8 - Virginia Water Environment Association Industrial Waste and Pretreatment Conference, Omni, Charlottesville.
