ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Water Environment Federation (WEF) proudly announces that the 2011 and 2010 reigning champions, Terminal Velocity from the Virginia Water Environment Association, once again took top honors during the event’s Operations Challenge competition — held as part of WEFTEC® 2012, WEF’s 85th Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference, which is taking place this week at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, according to a press release.
Coached by Elijah Smith and Bobby Williams, the Terminal Velocity team of Steve Motley, Steve Poe, Jason Truitt and Captain Donnie Cagle competed against 36 teams from across the U.S. and Canada during the fast-paced, two-day event.
[Related content: Terminal Velocity takes crown again at Operations Challenge competition]
“We feel like this is a great victory for us. It was our first official competition since last year's WEFTEC event, and we have had to overcome the retirement of a veteran team member,” said Cagle. “It is special to us because it is only the second time in the history of Operations Challenge for a team to win three years in a row.”
Now in its 25th year, 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, including collection systems, laboratory, process control, maintenance and safety.
[Related content: EPA’s Lisa Jackson addresses environmental health, regulations at WEFTEC]
The events are designed to test the diverse skills required for the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities, their collection systems and laboratories — all vital to the protection of public health and the environment.
Read the entire press release here.
