The full competition results include:

Division 1
First Place: Terminal Velocity, Virginia WEA
Second Place: LA Wrecking Crew, California WEA
Third Place:  Seacoast Sewer Snakes, New England WEA

Division 2
First Place: Team HRSD, Virginia WEA
Second Place: Dillo XXPress, WEA of Texas
Third Place: Liquid Force, WEA of South Carolina

The Operations Challenge is a friendly competition among wastewater treatment plant operators sponsored by CWEA and WEF each year at state and international conferences.  Over the last several decades, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts team (the LA Wrecking Crew) has won a number of CWEA state and WEF international competitions. 

The competition is divided into five events, which include: collection systems, laboratory, process control, maintenance and safety.  Participants are also organized into two divisions and there are winners from each division for each event.  A cumulative score for each team is assessed based on overall performance and the conference title is presented to the team with the highest score.  This program was established as a way to bring industry professionals from varying applications and disciplines together in an interactive forum. 

Operations professionals competing at the international level are so talented that as Jeanette Brown (incoming WEF President) stated during the 2010 awards ceremony, “The field is so tight that only half a second separates the overall Division 1 winners.”  Jeanette went on to express her appreciation for these accomplished professionals, who are integral to the water quality industry.  

Now in its 23rd year, the Operations Challenge has grown from an original 22-team event to its current 37-team, two-division format. Winners are determined by a weighted point system for five events.  The events are designed to test the diverse skills required for the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities, their collection systems and laboratories, which are all vital to the protection of public health and the environment.

The Operations Challenge was presented in conjunction with WEFTEC 2010, the 83rd annual technical exhibition and conference, which ran from October 2-6, 2010 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. WEFTEC is the largest annual water quality conference and exhibition in the world, and this year’s event drew thousands of water professionals and exhibitors from around the globe and showcased the latest in research, training, solutions and cutting-edge technologies.  Plan to attend next year’s WEFTEC 2011, which will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1209 Figueroa Street) from October 15-19.  Congratulations to the LA Wrecking Crew and good luck for the upcoming training season!

After the demonstration, join us for dinner at the Alpine Village Restaurant and, if you work in Operations or Maintenance, have a free beer on us.

During dinner, Debra Bogdanoff of LACSD and CWEA will give a brief presentation about LABS & the California Water Environment Association.

View flyer for more information!

Members of LA Wrecking Crew compete in the 2009 Ops Challenge in Palm Springs

 The 2009 Operations Challenge proved to be an exciting event for both the competitors as well as the spectators.  Conference attendees once again packed the aisles around the challenge areas to see the teams give it their all in an attempt to be crowned the state’s best. 

Los Angeles County’s “LA Wrecking Crew” reclaimed the state title after last year’s defeat. The team from Vallejo made a great run and had their best ever finish of second place overall.  Sacramento’s team continued to showcase their skills including a first place finish in the laboratory event.  All three teams should be congratulated for their superb performance as they now ready themselves for the upcoming WEFTEC event in Orlando.  – CWEA

By Wendy Wert
Editor 

Known as the Water Quality Event, WEFTEC.07 is the largest annual water quality exhibition in the world. This year featured 119 technical sessions and 29 specialty workshops, which offered educational opportunities for water practitioners.

Even before the inspirational opening general session, interactive workshops educated participants on up-to-date industry issues. For example experts with over 200 years of cumulative experience discussed the integration of succession planning and knowledge retention in Strategic Workforce Planning for Leaders at all Levels. Many utilities will lose 30-50% of their current workforce to retirement within 10 years. Successful strategies to retain critical knowledge include leadership development, data management systems, and updates to standard operating procedures. In addition, creative solutions such as formalized mentoring programs, internal career path symposiums, and operations storytelling were highlighted.

Specific technical issues were also addressed in such forums as the WEF/WERF: Are Pathogens in Biosolids Bugging You? workshop where a panel of experts presented results on reactivation/regrowth of microbes, risk assessment/modeling, and airborne biological contaminants.

The excitement continued to build as Dr. Perry McCarty, the 2007 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate delivered an inspired vision challenging the industry to responsibly apply biological and chemical processes to ensure the safe supply and treatment of water. The Clean Water Act (CWA), considered one of the most successful pieces of federal legislation ever crafted celebrated its 35th anniversary in October. A special session The Next 35 Years of the Clean Water Act discussed actions that must be taken to preserve the purpose of the CWA.

Some of the best wastewater collection and treatment personnel in the world displayed their skills during Operations Challenge ’07. Anticipation filled the auditorium as operators demonstrated a combination of precision, speed and safety. And as always there were numerous (119) technical sessions where the latest technologies, results, strategies, successes, and lessons learned were presented. WEFTEC.08 will be held in Chicago.

To learn more visit www.weftec.com.

Skilled teams competed in the annual CWEA 2007 state operations challenge in Ontario. The competition tests several areas of hands-on expertise including: laboratory techniques, process control, pump maintenance, collections, and safety. Achievement in this event is known throughout the industry to represent “excellence in wastewater operations.”

Those who were not able to attend will get another chance to see the division winners as they go on to represent California at the national level during the 2007 Water Environment Federation Conference (WEFTEC) October 15-17 in San Diego.

Congratulations to this years 1st Place, 1st Division winners, the LA Wrecking Crew. Good luck at WEFTEC 2007!