Announcing the 2019 CWEA Award Winners
Thank you Xylem for supporting our annual awards program!
The California Water Environment Association (CWEA) announced the winners of its 2019 awards program at its Annual Conference in Palm Springs on April 12.
Nominations that advance through CWEA’s 17 local sections’ awards programs plus a select group of special awards are eligible to compete statewide.
CWEA officers are available to make a presentation to CWEA award recipients at agency board or City Council meetings. Please contact Victoria Thornton at [email protected] or (510) 382-7800 x 113.
Photos by Ddaze Phuong.
Special thanks to California based Xylem for supporting the Friday Awards program.
Congratulations to these agencies and individuals leading the way in the protection and enhancement of our water environment.
Agency Winners
Plant of the Year Medium
First Place: Jacobs, South County Regional Wastewater Authority
Plant of the Year Small: Olivenhain Municipal Water District
Collection System of the Year Large (Over 500 miles): Coachella Valley Water District
Collection System of the Year Medium (250–500 miles): City of Vista
Collection System of the Year Small (0-249 Miles): Castro Valley Sanitary District
Community Engagement & Outreach: Project of the Year Large Budget (Over $20K): City of Los Angeles, LA Sanitation, One Water LA
Community Engagement & Outreach: Project of the Year Small Budget (Under $20K): East Bay Municipal Utility District
Community Engagement & Outreach: Best Use of Social Media Small: Leucadia Wastewater District
Community Engagement & Outreach: Best Use of Social Media Large: Sacramento Area Sewer District
Engineering Achievement of the Year: Central Marin Sanitation Agency
Research Achievement of the Year: Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County & Kennedy/Jenks Consultants
Safety: Plant of the Year Medium and WEF Burke Award – Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District
Safety: Plant of the Year Small: CDMSmith, USMC Southern Region Tertiary Treatment Plant
Individual Winners
Collection System Person of the Year: Barry Blevins, Carmel Area Wastewater District
Collection Systems: Ambassadors, Golden Manhole: Kody Tompkins
Collection Systems: PICK- Professionalism, Ingenuity, Contribution, Knowledge:
Steve Cano, Costa Mesa Sanitary District; Kyle Dodd, City of Manteca; Travis Fisher, Ojai Valley Sanitary District; Kody Tompkins, City of Barstow
Community Engagement & Outreach: Person of the Year Mary Jo Ramey, Central Marin Sanitation Agency
Electrical/Instrumentation: Person of the Year: Ignacio Just, City of Santa Barbara
Gimmick/Gadget of the Year First Place: Jeff Schier, Oro Loma Sanitary District
Gimmick/Gadget of the Year Second Place: Jonathan Heffernan, City of Anaheim 
Gimmick/Gadget of the Year Third Place: Joseph Lucero, City of Escondido
Laboratory Person of the Year: Kurtis Westbrook, City of Vacaville
Mechanical Technician of the Year: Marcos Avila, Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
Operator of the Year: Garon Goularte, Jacobs
P3S Person of the Year: Jennifer Peet, City of Modesto
Outstanding Young Professional of the Year: Ryan Sellman, Carollo Engineers
Supervisor of the Year: Ted Gerber, Orange County Sanitation District 
WEF Awards
WEF Quarter Century Operator Club: Ralph Palomares, El Toro Water District
WEF Lifetime Achievement: Denny S. Parker; John J. Tolmasov; Robert B. Williams; Terry W. Schroepfer
CWEA Quarter Century Awards
CWEA Quarter Century from the North:
- Jason Fick, City of Roseville
- Brian Hawley, Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District
- Bob Lawrence, City of Roseville
- Linda Leong, Silicon Valley Clean Water
- Edward Oyama, West Valley Sanitation District
- Ed Waggoner, Carmel Area Wastewater District
- Mike Walkowiak, Brown and Caldwell
Quarter Century from the South:
- Timothy Kwak, City of Escondido
- Tony Lee, Orange County Sanitation District
Kirt Brooks Memorial Scholarship
- Lauren Armistead
- Alejandro Cerano-Lopez
- Susan Hiestand
- Connie Ho
- Cassey Hong
- Kourosh Irani
- Valerie Leone
- Gabriel Snook
- Cole Parsons
- Visala Tallavarjula
5S Members
- Amanda Bird
- Jonathon Powell
- Dave Bachtel
- Gary Warren
- Vicki Conway
- Jed Beyer
- Debi Lewis
- Susan Hiestand
- Tom Falk
- Zaheer Shaikh
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