Awards

The Awards Committee is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for consideration for Plant of the Year and Operator of the Year. To be considered in the next Award, your completed application must be submitted by Friday, July 30th. See the buttons below for links to these forms.

“Plant of the Year” Award Criteria

• Two awards will be given; one for plants with daily average flows greater than 5 million gallons per day and one for plants with daily average flows of less than 5 million gallons per day.
• The treatment plant shall employ at least one membrane based treatment process.
• The plant shall be a public or private facility providing treatment for potable water use, wastewater treatment, or reclaimed water treatment.
• The treatment plant shall have exhibited an exemplary safety record.
• The treatment plant should demonstrate a history of minimum and preferably no permit violations as recorded by the local regulating body.
• The treatment plant should consistently be neat and clean in appearance with minimal impact tor surrounding neighbors.
• It is preferable that the plant be used by its owner to educate the public on water supply, water quality, treatment, and/or reuse.
• The award recipient will be announced at the SWMOA Annual Conference and receive a plaque recognizing this achievement. In addition, the recipient’s achievement will be mentioned in the SWMOA quarterly newsletter and on the SWMOA web site.
• A letter will be written by the SWMOA President to the manager of the winning treatment plant acknowledging the achievement.

Compensation:

• • The award recipient will be announced at the SWMOA Annual Conference and receive a plaque recognizing this achievement. In addition, the recipient’s achievement will be mentioned in the SWMOA quarterly newsletter and on the SWMOA web site.
  • A letter will be written by the SWMOA President to the manager of the winning treatment plant acknowledging the achievement.

Please note: Plants will be visited if possible; otherwise, the committee will rely on the applicant’s submitted documentation.  Documentation may include PowerPoint and/or video/YouTube as backup materials to this application form.

Submit a “Plant of the Year” Nomination

view past recipients

 

“Operator of the Year” Award Criteria

• Two awards will be presented; the Large Plant Operator (greater than 5 MGD) and Small Plant Operator (less than 5 MGD) of the Year
• The award recipients must have worked continuously for at least one year as a licensed plant operator in a facility that contains at least one membrane based treatment process.
• The recipients should exhibit a job effort that is above and beyond the normal requirement for his or her position.
• The recipients should demonstrate a working knowledge of membrane processes and a willingness to further their knowledge on a regular basis.
• The recipients should demonstrate the ability to positively represent his or her employer in the water or wastewater industry.
• An evaluation of the candidate’s work experience, honors, character, self-reliance, and leadership will be used to select the award recipient.
• It is preferable that the award nominees have a letter of recommendation from their supervisor or other management personnel.
• It is preferable that the candidate be active in industry organization such as AWWA, WEF, CWEA, AMTA, or SWMOA.

Compensation:

• • The award recipients will be announced at the SWMOA Annual Conference and receive a plaque recognizing this achievement. In addition, the recipient’s achievement will be mentioned in the SWMOA quarterly newsletter and posted on the SWMOA web site.
  • A letter will be written by the SWMOA president to the winner’s manager acknowledging the achievement.
  • Winners will receive one free Annual Conference registration to be used at the Annual Conference the following year the award was received. In addition, the Operators will serve on the Award Committee the following year and will present the Operators of the Year Award to the new Operators during the Awards Luncheon.

Submit an “Operator of the Year” Nomination

view past recipients

 

Best Tasting Membrane Water Competition

SWMOA Best Tasting Membrane Water Competition will be held during the SWMOA Annual Conference.

Who can participate:
Any utility in the SWMOA region (Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah) that uses membrane treatment in the production of its drinking water is invited to submit a sample for judging. Facilities that do not use membranes in some stage of drinking water production are not eligible to enter.

How to enter:
Please submit completed entry form below to SWMOA by Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 to sign up to participate in the contest. Please submit your entry to the SWMOA Staff at conference registration no later than 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 (no exceptions). If you wish to ship your sample, please contact SWMOA staff for instructions at 760-536-8863 or email.

Instructions for sample:
Please follow the instructions below when preparing your water sample:

Only samples submitted in the correct sealed 1 quart glass container will be considered – no exceptions. SWMOA staff will track samples as they are turned in and assign anonymous labels to each sample. The public water system must comply with all Maximum Contaminant Levels and Treatment Technique requirements, and must not have any potable water quality violations from a regulatory agency in 2020 or 2021, or be under regulatory consent decree or order for its potable water quality.

Judging:
For each entry, individual samples will be prepared. Each judge will be given one sample of each entry. The judges will evaluate the sample on the following scale:

The sample with the highest cumulative score will be given the title of “2021 Best Tasting Membrane Water”. The runner up will also be recognized.

Best Tasting Membrane Water Competition – Submission Form