Water district employees in national competition

The Northwestern Water and Sewer District (The District) announced that “Dirty Deeds,” the competitive operations team of five licensed water and wastewater operators, placed 13th in the National Operations Challenge at the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) held in Chicago.
“We are proud of the ‘Dirty Deeds’ team and all of our water professionals at The District who care about making clean water for Northwest Ohio,” said District Superintendent Dan Wickard.
The team, comprised of Claud Barringer, Brian Martikan, Tom McGrain, Jared Myers and Todd Saums, competed against 46 teams from around the nation and the world.
Teams were tested in five events that mimic water professionals’ real-world job responsibilities, including:
• Performing maintenance on simulated collection systems and other equipment,
• Demonstrating familiarity with laboratory procedures,
• Bringing an impaired pump station back to working condition,
• Answering process control questions and successfully troubleshooting problems in a water resource recovery facility simulation, and
• Rescuing a victim from the bottom of a manhole.
The team’s trip to Chicago was -funded by the Ohio Water Environment Association, a non-profit, wastewater related organization with more than 2,000 members.