People/Awards
Ken Hackett retired in November 2015 as wastewater treatment operations manager for the Town of Mansfield, Massachusetts. He worked for the town for 30 years.
Michigan Technological University researchers Jennifer Becker and Eric Seagren received a $37,000 award from the Water Environment Research Federation for their project “High-Tech Analysis of Low-Tech Methods for Sustainable Class A Biosolids Production.” Becker, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Seagren, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, will lead a team to establish a pilot-scale field test at the Portage Lake Water and Sewer Authority in Houghton, Michigan.
The American Public Works Association Oregon Chapter named the City of Gresham as winner of the Public Works Project of the Year award in the environmental category. The Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant was recognized for its cogeneration expansion project.
Josh Fritsch, who used to work in the wastewater department at Montpelier, Ohio, was named the village administrator for West Unity, Ohio.
The Newberg Wastewater Treatment Plant repair, renovation and expansion project was named the 2015 Project of the Year (budget between $25 million to $75 million) by the Oregon Chapter of the American Public Works Association. Public Works civil engineer Jason Wuertz served as the project manager for the $25 million project.
Rodney Taylor was named water utilities director for the City of Abilene, Texas. He oversees the city’s public water supply and wastewater treatment operations. Taylor has several years’ experience as a water treatment plant operator and manager and holds a Class A Water Operator license and a Class III Wastewater Collections Operator license.
The Northampton (Massachusetts) City Council named the city’s wastewater treatment plant after former council president James Dostal, who passed away in October 2015. Among Dostal’s accomplishments was helping develop support to build the wastewater treatment plant in the 1950s. He served the city for 55 years.
Missouri American Water named Cheryl Norton as its new president, replacing Frank Kartmann. Norton most recently worked as head of Kentucky American Water.
Spartanburg Water Director of Water Treatment Ken Tuck was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley to a four-year term on the South Carolina Environmental Certification Board.
The National Association of Water Companies awarded second place in its Management Innovation Awards to Illinois American Water for the company’s Mobile Education Center and Moving Water Forward through Education, an innovative approach to educating customers – especially the youngest — about the water industry.
Three Cape Fear Public Utility Authority staff members — Robert Daughtry, Jim Tayson and Michael Richardson — were honored by the North Carolina Section AWWA and Water Environment Association. Daughtry, collections system manager, received the 2015 Wastewater Collections Operator of the Year award. Tayson, water distribution and construction manager, was named 2015 Water Distribution Operator of the Year. Richardson, water resource manager, was the first individual recipient of the 2015 Disaster Preparedness Award.
The Village of Bosque Farms wastewater treatment plant received the New Mexico Rural Wastewater Association’s Wastewater Treatment System of the Year award.
The Town of Waynetown received the Indiana Water Environment Association 2015 Collections System Award for Small Facility for its recently completed collections system improvement project.
The City of Cordova was named Water System of the Year (population over 1,000) by the Alaska Rural Water Association.
The Roseburg (Oregon) Urban Sanitary Authority received the Water Quality Improvement Award from the Water Environment Federation for its natural treatment system.
The Verdigris Water Treatment Plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was named Large Water Plant of the Year by the Oklahoma Water and Pollution Control Association.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave Water Fluoridation Quality Awards to the Muskogee Water Treatment Plant and the Tahlequah Public Works Authority’s Illinois River and Lake Tenkiller water plants. All are in Oklahoma.
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. 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 Hotel. Visit
www.vwea.org.
March 7-10 - AWWA 2016 Sustainable Water Management Conference, Providence (Rhode Island) Biltmore. Visit www.awwa.org.
March 13-24 - Water and Wastewater 2016 Leadership Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Presented by the Water Environment Federation, American Public Works Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies and National Association of Water Companies. Call 202/833-1449 or visit wef.org.
March 15-16 - AWWA Water Loss Seminar: Best Practice Water Audits and Loss Control Programs, Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Visit www.awwa.org.
March 20-23 - Missouri Water Environment Association / American Water Works Association Joint Annual Conference, Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach. Visit www.mwea.org.
March 21-24 - Central States Water Environment Association Odors and Air Pollutants 2016 Conference, Wisconsin Center/Hilton Hotel, Milwaukee. Call 703/684-2441 or visit www.cswea.org.
March 29-31 - Kansas Rural Water Association Annual Conference and Exhibition, Century II Convention Center, Wichita. Visit www.krwa.net.
