The Indiana Wastewater Environment Association (IWEA) Wastewater Challenge is an event that happens once a year and brings operators and professionals from around the state to compete in seven different events in one day. These events test the skills, knowledge, and experience in various tasks that are involved with wastewater. This year the seven events consisted of: O&M, Collections, Safety, Residuals, Laboratory, Pretreatment, and Utility Management. The top two teams advance to the Water Environment Federation’s WEFTEC event to compete at the National Wastewater Challenge to represent Indiana. The 2023 WEFTEC event will be held in Chicago in October.
The 2023 IWEA Wastewater Challenge was held in Lafayette on May 16. Columbus City Utilities team members were: Travis Calhoun, Wastewater Plant Superintendent; Chris Murray, Wastewater Plant Operator; Erin Johnson, Manager of Operations; and Randy Duckworth, Special Projects Coordinator. We are pleased to report the Columbus City Utilities team placed first in O&M, Collections, Utility Management, Residuals, and also won the Spirit Award. The team placed second overall and will advance to Chicago in October.