Taking first place in last year’s regional competition in Chattanooga earned the team a spot in the national competition in Toronto in June of this year. There the team, representing the Kentucky/Tennessee Section, advanced to the finals for the second year in a row, and placed 4th among 19 American Water Works Association (AWWA) Section teams from the U.S. and Canada. Their final loss was to the eventual champions, Pacific Northwest, after two tie-breaker rounds.

In July, team members Paul Phillips, Dorothy Rader and T.J. Emory traveled to Louisville, KY for the regional Top-Ops competition and placed second to the team from Murfreesboro.

The competition is a college bowl format where teams of operators face off to answer rounds of questions about water treatment, distribution, and plant operations. The questions are based on standard reference materials used by water and wastewater utilities, training agencies, and certification organizations. Some 600 questions, validated by the Association of Boards of Certification, are used during the triple elimination contest.

Speaking of the awards, City Manager Mark Johnson stated, “We are proud of these employees and appreciate the knowledge they exhibit and efforts they put forth in representing the City in these competitions.”