2012 ANNUAL - Ohio Water Environment Association

2012 WEF AwardsOWEA Award History 2012Laboratory Analyst AwardKathy RichardsCity of AkronRecognizes individuals for outstanding performance, professionalism,and contributions to the water quality analysis profession.Kathy received the 2011 OWEA Lab Analyst Award and now receives this WEF award.Kathy has worked in the City of Akron lab since 1995 where she leads the industrialmonitoring program covering over 60 industries. Kathy continues to volunteer her timeto help train other lab analysts in Ohio. She was a major contributor to the lab analyststudy guide in Ohio. She holds a Class IV OWEA Lab Analyst Certification, Class IIIWastewater Operator certificate, and holds a BS Microbiology and minor in Chemistryfrom the University of Akron.Kathy’s example of leadership in helping train future analysts helps WEF and OWEAkeep our water environment healthy and clean.George W. Burke AwardBowling Green WPCFCity of Bowling GreenPresented to a municipality or industrial wastewaterfacility for an active and effective safety program.The Bowling Green Water Pollution Control Facility (BGWPCF) is a Class IV facility,serving a population of 30,000. Treatment is achieved through primary, secondary, andtertiary treatment processes with aerobic digestion of waste biosolids. The plant hasa rated capacity of 10 MGD average daily flow and 20 MGD peak hydraulic flow andcurrently treats approximately 6.5 MGD. The WPCF staff consists of 8 operators, 1 labtechnician, 1 biosolids coordinator, 1 Assistant Superintendent, and a Superintendent.In addition to monthly safety training provided by American Municipal Power, the WPCFhas consistently sought to go beyond the basic safety requirements.F.D. “Dean” StewartFranklin Dean Stewart was a founding father of the Ohio Sewage and Industrial Waste TreatmentConference in 1926, now known as the Ohio Water Environment Association. He graduated fromThe Ohio State University in 1913 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Mr. Stewart began his careerin the water and sewer industry as an assistant to A. Elliott Kimberly, Consulting Engineer, inColumbus. While there, he worked on design and supervision of construction of various water andsewage projects throughout Ohio. In 1918, he began working for the Ohio Department of Healthand remained there the rest of his career as the Assistant Chief Engineer. Dean Stewart held thepost of “Editor” for the Ohio Sewage and Industrial Waste Treatment Conference and chaired thefirst subcommittee on short schools in 1941.J.W. EllmsJoseph Winton Ellms was a founding father of the Ohio Sewage and Industrial Waste TreatmentConference in 1926, now known as the Ohio Water Environment Association. He graduated from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 1893 with a degree in Chemistry. In 1898, he participated instudies on the treatability of Ohio River water as a source for Cincinnati’s water supply. He remainedwith the city and became the first Plant Superintendent of the “California” plant.In 1918, Mr. Ellms moved to Cleveland to work in the city’s water treatment plant. Once the city begantreating its sewage, he switched to the sewage side and became the Cleveland Commissioner ofSewage Disposal. Mr. Ellms was also widely known as a partner in consulting firms.Mr. Ellms took a leadership role representing the Ohio Conference on the “Committee of 100” whichbrought about a Federation of state sewage treatment associations, primarily for the purpose ofpublishing peer reviewed technical papers for educational purposes. We now know this federationas the Water Environment Federation.F. H. WaringFred Holman Waring was a principal founder of the Ohio Sewage and Industrial Waste TreatmentConference in 1926, now known as the Ohio Water Environment Association. He served in theDivision of Sanitary Engineering of the Ohio Department of Health for forty-five years and for overtwenty-five years he was the Chief of that division. He was known for his soft glove of enforcementvia reasonableness. Mr. Waring personally knew most of the designers, builders and operatorsof water and waste water facilities in Ohio. In 1961, following his retirement, Mr. Waring wrote adetailed report on the public water supplies and water pollution control facilities in Ohio which isone of the best histories of Ohio’s early treatment plants.W.D. SheetsWaldron Devol Sheets earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University in1940. He started his career as an assistant chemist at the Columbus Sewage Treatment Plant. Heis best known as a professor who helped establish the Water Resources Center of The Ohio StateUniversity. He coordinated the five day “short schools” starting in 1948 as an activity of the universityin addition to his regular duties. These short schools grew in popularity over the next several yearsunder his guidance. His commitment to operator education in Ohio continued as he was one of thefounders of the Operator Training Committee of Ohio, Inc. (OTCO) and became its first ExecutiveDirector. Mr. Sheets is credited with training thousands of operators in both water and wastewater.30 31