ALEXANDRIA, VA, Aug. 25, 2004 -- James H. Clark, a Black & Veatch vice president and senior project manager based in Los Angeles, CA, will receive the prestigious Charles Alvin Emerson Medal from the Water Environment Federation (WEF).
In addition, Pete Goins, Dave Parker, Chris deBarbadillo and Cindy Wallis-Lage will receive WEF's prestigious George Bradley Gascoigne Medal.
Both awards will be presented during ceremonies held Oct. 5 in New Orleans at WEFTEC®.04, the Federation's 77th annual technical conference and exhibition.
A member of the California Water Environment Association and former WEF president (2001-2002), Clark has made many significant contributions during his term as a WEF officer including serving on the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) Board and working closely with WEF Membership and Students & Young Professionals committees. He has also been active on several other WEF committees, including Air Quality, Technical Practice and Government Affairs. Clark has also served as a review author for the two most recent editions of MOP-8 and as a principal author of MOP-22 and MOP 25, leading wastewater industry manuals of practice.
And Clark has managed many water quality improvement projects where unique processes have been used to effectively improve treatment cost. One example is the L.A. Hyperion Treatment Plant, where the most efficient high-purity oxygen cryogenic air separator was installed. The addition of egg-shaped anaerobic digesters allowed for more efficient operation, improved gas production and twice the capacity on the same site footprint as conventional digesters. Clark is currently managing the design of the first air treatment facilities in the L.A. wastewater collection system, utilizing environmentally-friendly technologies with low operation and maintenance requirements.
The Emerson Medal is awarded for contributions to the wastewater collection field that most deserve recognition. According to WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera, "This award not only recognizes the excellence and contribution of a noted individual, but of a whole community of public health and environmental professionals."
This Gascoigne Medal is awarded for a paper that presents a solution to an important, complicated operational problem in a full-scale operating wastewater treatment plant.
Pete Goins is plant superintendent for the McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Charlotte�Mecklenburg Utilities in Charlotte, NC. Dave Parker, P.E., is a project manager and Chris deBarbadillo, P.E., is a process engineer in the Charlotte office of Black & Veatch Corp. Cindy Wallis-Lage, P.E., is director of Wastewater Treatment Technology for the Water Americas division of Black & Veatch in Kansas City.
Goins, Parker, deBarbadillo and Wallis-Lage are being recognized for their article, "Build a Better Nutrient Trap." Published in the Operations Forum section of the July 2003 issue of WEF's Water Environment & Technology, the article identifies and discusses the process used to remove phosphorus from the effluent to enable the plant to operate efficiently and more easily accommodate additional future loadings.
Owned and operated by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (CMU), the McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is a 6-mgd activated-sludge facility that was upgraded to biological nutrient removal in 1999. The area is undergoing rapid development and community growth. Knowing that CMU could not increase loads to the receiving stream, the project team adopted an aggressive proactive approach to optimize the removal of phosphorus from effluent. Several operating strategies were tested, with varying costs and degrees of success. The recommended strategy has been implemented and has yielded an annual net savings of $150,000.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch Corp. is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in the fields of energy, water and information. Founded in 1915, it serves its clients with conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, information technology, environmental, security design and consulting, and management consulting services. The employee-owned company has more than 90 offices worldwide and is ranked on the Forbes "500 Largest Private Companies in the United States" listing for 2003. Its website address is www.bv.com.
About WEF
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 79 Member Associations in over 30 countries.
WEFTEC.04, North America's largest water quality conference and exhibition, is scheduled for Oct. 2-6, in New Orleans. More than 15,000 of the world's leading water quality experts and 800 companies featuring the latest in water quality technology are expected for this major event. More information can be found at www.weftec.org.
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