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Awards and Honors
WaterWebster Staff
June 4, 2008
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The award for developing the world's largest groundwater recharge purification plant will be presented to executives from the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District on Aug. 21 during the 2008 World Water Week in Stockholm. According to a news release announcing the award, the GWR System diverts highly treated sewer water that is currently discharged into the ocean and purifies it through a series of advanced techniques: microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection and hydrogen peroxide. The cleaned water is returned to the groundwater basin to increase both water supply and quality. The GWR system has established a blueprint for large-scale wastewater purification that is already being emulated in dry regions and nations, such as Singapore. The Stockholm Industry Water Award honours and encourages business sector contributions to sustainable development in the water sector.
Santa Monica, California's Westside Water Quality Improvement Project wins 2007 Outstanding Stormwater Management Award from the California Stormwater Quality Assn.
The award was in the Treatment Control/Structural BMP Implementation subcategory. The award was presented to the city of Santa Monica, which owns and operates the facility, at CASQA’s annual awards luncheon in Costa Mesa recently. Black & Veatch provided design, permitting and construction support services for the environmentally responsible facility. Development and implementation of the urban runoff quality treatment facility, which was constructed deep beneath Mar Vista Park in western Los Angeles, demonstrated exceptional cooperation between two California cities to cost-effectively alleviate pollution caused by urban runoff in parts of both Los Angeles and Santa Monica. News Release_ 10/8/07
The Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility in Hillsborough County, Fla., received the Florida Water Environment Association’s 2007 Earle B. Phelps Award in the advanced wastewater treatment plant category. The award was presented at the annual Florida Water Resources Conference held in Orlando. Ten of the last 14 winners of the Phelps Award have utilized the TETRA DeepBed™ technology for their filtration needs. The runner-up in the advanced water treatment plant category was The Fiesta Village Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Lee County, Fla., which uses the TETRA Denite system for simultaneous nitrate-nitrogen and TSS removal. The Fiesta Village plant has won nine previous Phelps Awards. The Earle B. Phelps Award, established in 1964, honors outstanding treatment plants in Florida that have maintained the highest removal of pollutants. Awards are given in three categories: advanced treatment; advanced secondary facilities; and secondary treatment facilities. Plant size also is considered, with nominees being evaluated against facilities of the same relative size and treatment type. News Release_ 8/21/07
Oklahoma City Water and Wastewater Utility wins 'Best of the Best' Water taste test
American Water Works Association's annual conference bestows title
The American Water WorksAssociation (AWWA) today announced that Oklahoma City
(Oklahoma) Water and Wastewater Utility won its annual "Best of the Best" Water Taste Test. The event, comprised of North American winners of state and regional water-tasting competitions, was held at the AWWA's Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE07) in Toronto. The "Best of the Best" Water Taste Test pitted water utilities around North America against one another to determine which utility has the best tasting water. Second place in the competition was awarded to Water district No. 1 of Johnson County, Kansas. Local host Toronto Water earned third place. Other "Best of the Best" participants in today's competition included: Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska; City of Minot Water Treatment Plant, North Dakota; Lake Utility Services, Inc., Florida; City of Aurora, Illinois; City of Savannah, Georgia; Detroit Water And Sewerage Department, Michigan; City of Forth Worth Water Department, Texas; and Public Utility District of Skagit County, Washington. Press Release, PR Newswire_6/25/07
Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer named a finalist by Investigative Reporters and Editors for 2006 series North Carolina Water: Safe to Drink? IRE News Release_ 3/26/07 Read the full series here
McCarty is a pioneer in the development of the understanding of biological and chemical processes for the safe supply and treatment of water. The California professor's work has led to more efficient biological treatment processes, in particular anaerobic (oxygen-less) treatment systems for municipal and industrial wastewaters, biological nutrient removal, and the development and use of biofilm reactors. In its Citation, the Nominating Committee wrote:
Professor Perry L. McCarty is awarded the 2007 Stockholm Water Prize for pioneering work in developing the scientific approach for the design and operation of water and wastewater systems. He has established the role of fundamental microbiology and chemistry in the design of bioreactors. Professor McCarty has defined the field of environmental biotechnology that is the basis for small-scale and large-scale pollution control and safe drinking water systems.
The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1990 and presented annually by the Stockholm Water Foundation to an individual, organization or institution for outstanding water-related activities. The activities can be within fields like education and awareness-raising, human and international relations, research, water management and water-related aid. The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives US $150,000 along with a glass sculpture, which will be presented August 16 during the 2007 World Water Week in Stockholm. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is the Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize. News Release_ 3/22/07
Scottsdale, Arizona's Chaparral Water Treatment Plant earns award for excellence
The 30-million-gallon-per-day facility, which began producing potable water in March 2006, recently received a Grand Award in Engineering Excellence from the Arizona chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies.
Black & Veatch provided site selection, pilot testing,design and construction-related services for the new facility, which uses direct microfiltration for advanced treatment of surface water. The company worked closely with architectural sub-consultant Swaback Partners to ensure that the plant, situated in Chaparral Park and surrounded by residential neighborhoods, would be a welcome addition to the community. The Chaparral WTP is the first major surface water treatment plant in Arizona to employ direct microfiltation followed by granular activated carbon adsorption. Disinfection is accomplished with sodium hypochlorite, which is produced and stored on-site – eliminating the need for delivery of hazardous chemicals. The treatment facilities, a buried 5.5-million-gallon finished-water reservoir and pump station encompass only nine acres of a 29-acre site. By comparison, a conventional plant typically requires an area two or three times this size. News Release_ 11/28/06
Black & Veatch global chief engineer Peter Hyde receives China's 'friendship award'
The ceremony was presided over by Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu. The award, which was launched in 1991, is the top award given by the Central Government to foreign experts. It has been conferred on more than 850 international specialists who have worked in China and recognizes those foreign experts that have made significant contributions to China’s modernization drive. Hyde was nominated by the Songliao Water Resources Commission for work he performed for the commission as the international team leader on the Songhua River Flood Management Sector Project. This is an Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project that seeks to reduce flood damage through improved integrated river basin management and upgrading of flood protection infrastructure, including heightening and reinforcing of 540km of flood control dikes and the rehabilitation and upgrading of existing reservoirs for wetland management and water storage. News Release_ 10/4/06
Milwaukee, Wisconsin sewer tunnel receives American Public Works Assn. Project of the Year Award
The $125 million Milwaukee Northwest Side Relief Sewer project was constructed by Black & Veatch, the primary consultant and design engineer for the project; the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), managing agency; and Shea-Kenny Joint Venture, primary contractor. When Milwaukee, Wis., faced sewer overflows and basement backups during wet weather as a result of aging and undersized infrastructure, the MMSD formulated a farsighted proposal to accommodate growth, protect water quality and safeguard public health within its 420-square-mile service area. More than seven years of planning, design and construction went into the 7.1-mile sewer tunnel, which serves seven northwestern Milwaukee area communities. Press Release_ 9/20/06
Black & Veatch has earned the Global Grand Prize in the Design category of the International Water Association (IWA) Project Innovation Awards for the Tai Po Water Treatment Works and Aqueducts project in Hong Kong, China. The award, which recognizes excellence and innovation in water engineering projects throughout the world, was presented to Black & Veatch at the 2006 IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition in Beijing. The company was also awarded the Regional Prize Winner in the Europe (and Rest of World) region for design of the Tai Po Water Treatment Works and Aqueducts. Press Release_ 9/15/06
Reliance’s refinery at Jamnagar is the world’s largest grassroot refinery. Seawater is the only source of water to the refinery. There are five desalination units at the refinery complex with a total production of 2,600 cubic meters per hour (m3/hr) making it a 100% desalination based refinery. The water used in the project is retreated and reused in cooling tower and Reliance Greens orchard. This makes it a zero effluent discharge refinery. The company has installed restricted orifices in boiler blow down, uses drip irrigation, harvests rainwater and replaces utility water by treated effluent water to remote locations for horticulture. India Infoline_ 12/29/05
May, 2005
Southern Oregon University students win NASA spproval for project to purify drinking water in space
Michael Andrus, Kiley Faubian, Jeffrey Haug and Jason Matthews will travel to Houston in July to test their project in a weightless environment created inside a specially-equipped jet aircraft. Peter Wu, a physics professor at SOU, said improved filtering systems will be a critical part of any long space flight such as a manned mission to Mars. Existing filters fare poorly in space because air bubbles that accumulate in fluids can't be easily removed in space the way they can on Earth. The project was developed with help from students at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. AP/San Francisco Chronicle_ 5/9/05
October, 2004
The $500 WASH Media Award, established by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council in 2002, went to Nadia El-Awady, an Egyptian journalist, and health and science editor of the Islam-Online news website. Four runner-up prizes of $250 each were awarded to Théodore Kouadio from the Ivory Coast for his article "Access to drinking water", Andreas Harsono from Indonesia for an investigation entitled "From the Thames to the Ciliwung", Ammara Durrani from Pakistan for her article 'The vulnerable water carriers', and Luis Enrique Lozada Fallardo from Peru for a series of radio features on environmental sanitation. Suvecha Pant, a Nepalese reporter, was awarded the Youth Reporter prize, a category for journalists under the age of 21. Her winning article related to arsenic-free water. More than 100 entries from print, radio and television journalists were received and reviewed by an international panel of judges. IOL_ 10/31/04
Owen, who died in 2004, was a Southern California water leader for 40 years. Don Owen West Dam at Diamond Valley Lake, near Hemet in southwestern Riverside County, was built by the MWD between 1995 and 1999.
Press Release_ 10/30/04
The winners are Professors Sven Erik Jørgensen, Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Copenhagen, and William J. Mitsch, Olentangy River Wetland Research Park at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The Stockholm Water Prize was established in 1990 by the Stockholm Water Foundation and is presented annually in honour of outstanding achievements in water science, management, action or awareness building. It can be awarded to the man, woman, institution, organisation or company whose applied research or direct action increases knowledge of the water environment. Press Release_ 5/7/04
The Authority's Regional Water Facilities Master Plan is a long-term plan to meet San Diego County's future water demands. It focuses on diversifying the region's water supply and identifies new water sources and facilities that will be required to meet the region's water needs through 2030. The Water Authority board of directors selected seawater desalination as the preferred alternative for providing a new, safe and reliable water supply for the region. Press Release_ 5/3/04
April, 2004
ZENON
Environmental CEO Andrew Benedek selected Entrepreneur of the Year at
9th Annual Oakville, Ontario Awards for Business Excellence
Benedek had the vision, decades ago, of a world where cost effective membrane
technology could ensure humanity's survival with safe and superior quality
water. At the time very few shared his idea. The Entrepreneur of the Year
award recognizes an individual who has introduced a new, different or
unique business concept where the element of risk is significant and where
a track record of success is clearly evident. Press Release_ 4/12/04
March, 2004
An
American and a Danish ecologist share this year's $150,000 Stockholm Water
Prize for their outstanding contributions to global lake and wetland sustainability.
William J. Mitsch, 56, a professor of natural resources and environmental
science and director of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park at Ohio
State University, and Sven Erik Joergensen, 69, a professor of environmental
chemistry at the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Copenhagen,
will receive the award from King Carl XVI Gustaf on Aug. 19 in the Swedish
capital. AP/Yahoo 3/22/04
Five Missouri educators receive Water Educator's Teacher of the Year award. Waynesville Daily Guide 10/24/03
UN Awards: Outstanding contributions to global water and sanitation efforts.
EPA: 2003 National Clean Water Act Recognition Awards
National Dam Safety Association Presents Annual Awards
