Birmingham, AL, June 15, 2012 -- The Birmingham Water Works pipe Tapping Team and Top Operators brought home first place victories at the American Water Works Association's annual conference, held in Dallas, Texas, this week.
The AWWA, the nation's largest water industry association, hosts the conference to give members an opportunity to share knowledge and information that advances the treatment, distribution and operations of drinking water systems.
Representatives from all sections of the country competed to win national honors in various water industry standard practices. BWWB's Tapping Team brought home their 9th first place title this year, and they have four world tapping titles under their belt. The Top Ops brought home their second, first place victory.
During the pipe tapping competition preliminaries on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, two teams had times of one minute and twelve seconds, which placed pressure on all finalists. The Birmingham Water Works Tapping Team finished the competition with a time of one minute and ten seconds and had a clean run with no penalties. Their second run was a little slower and the only question was if the one minute and ten seconds would hold throughout the remaining competition. Overall, the BWWB's first run put pressure on all other teams and caused them to rush to try to beat their time. Last year's winner, Spotssylvania, turned in a time of one minute and five seconds but had several penalties and ended with a one minute and twenty second run, putting BWWB back in the lead. Because of this year's national win, they will have the opportunity to compete for their fifth world title in England this fall. Members of the National Pipe Tapping Team are Ralph Abbott (coach), Johnny Bittles, Jerry Storey and Todd Stewart.
The BWWB's Top-Ops team members Jonathan Harris (coach), Wendell Cox, Bill Shikle and Trey Finch breezed through the preliminary rounds Monday and Tuesday, but were matched against a very good Florida team that also worked their way through preliminaries. The competition started with a seesaw battle, with both teams alternating back and forth answering questions. Florida seemed to pull out to good lead of eight points; however the Birmingham Water Works team was neither pressured nor concerned. The team remained calm and in the end, the BWWB Top Operators coasted to victory for their second national title in three years.
Founded in 1951, the Birmingham Water Works serves 600,000 people in Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, St. Clair and Walker counties. For more information about your Birmingham Water Works Board, please call us at (205) 244-4000 or visit our Web site at www.birminghamwaterworks.com.
