Carlos has been working in water conservation in New Mexico since 2005 and joined the Authority in 2016 and has been working to update the conservation program to achieve the goals of the 100-year water plan (Water2120) including the 2037 goal to reduce the per capita usage to 110 gpd. Carlos has shifted the focus from enforcement to education and over the last four years this effort is paying off!  Major accomplishments include: 1) Reducing follow-up enforcement to < 10% of water waste cases; freeing staff time to develop additional customer outreach programs; 2) Working with the Parks Department to return irrigation surcharges for use on water efficiency projects, resulting in improved collaboration and a 200 MG/yr water savings; 3) Developing a water management/leak detection tool to allow customers to leverage their AMI data. Carlos has also served as the president of the NM Water Conservation Alliance and launched a WaterSmart Academy to train landscape professionals. The proof is in the pudding; the Authority is on its way to achieving it 2037 goal since water use is already down to 121 gpcd.

Chris is the chief plant operator at the Binney Water Purification Facility (BWPF) and was part of the start-up team for the BWPF in 2010. He has been key in optimizing the cutting-edge technology used in the reuse train of the BWPF by turning data into information to understand and control process performance.  Thanks to Chris and the team at the BWPF, there has not been a combined (or individual) filter effluent turbidity ³ 0.10 ntu since start up and the BWPF has been awarded the Partnership for Safe Water Excellence in Treatment Award!

Chris doesn’t just optimize the BWPF he also: develops SOPs, trains staff, serves as the BWPF safety officer, leads tours, and was involved in planning and helping cover shifts during COVID.  All with a positive and encouraging attitude.   Chris also contributes to industry excellence by instructing at the Rocky Mountain Water and Wastewater Plant Operators School and is an active member of the Partnership for Safe Water Performance Effectiveness Assessment Committee.

TJ has spent the last 17 years in the City’s Utility Division learning and excelling at a variety of skills, which has made him uniquely qualified to be a “go-to” person in the Division where he is Safety Representative for the Division and works with the GIS team to provide insight on creating an operational focused data model to support asset management and workflows. His technical experience allows him to understand the end-user needs and provide and effective interface.

The City of Aurora Quality Control Laboratory is a repeat winner of this award and this doesn’t happen by accident.  The Aurora Quality Control Laboratory never stops working to:

• Support the WTPs by supplying critical source water quality information and performing testing required to maintain regulatory compliance.This included maintaining all sampling and analyses functions throughout COVID.
• Support their community through lead sampling for schools and volunteering at the Household Chemical Round-up and Youth Water Festival
• Support their industry by sharing SOPs, teaching classes, and actively participating in professional associations

The Ute WTP staff is to be congratulated on receiving the Outstanding WTP Award!  Recent accomplishments include:

• Staff were recognized by the Partnership for Safe Water for 15 consecutive years receiving the Phase III Director’s Award. The award is based on a documented whole-staff commitment to continuous improvement for the protection of public health.
• Staff have been engaged in numerous activities to improve the operation and maintenance of the WTP including:
  • SCADA programing to implement a real-time log inactivation value for monitoring the efficacy of their disinfection process.
  • PLC replacement, which necessitated replacing particle counters and alarm software to work with the new PLCs.
  • Study, improvements, and expansion of the clearwells to understand hydraulic and CT constraints and address them.
  • VFD replacement
  • Installation of energy efficient lighting and other energy consumption reductions have resulted in the WTP producing (through its hydrogenator) more energy than it uses.

The Sid Copeland WTP staff is receiving this award to acknowledge continuous improvement efforts and achievements over the last several years.  Noteworthy accomplishments include:

• Use of a 100% electronic data collection system that has improved the ability to track trends and better understand process changes to improve water quality.
• Aggressive algae control program, which has resulted in no taste and odor complaints in the last 4 years.
• Implementation of an asset management program that has improved tracking of preventative maintenance, SOP documentation, and manhour documentation.The manhour tracking has helped the staff communicate to management staffing needs.