SacSewer Warriors team (L-R) David Leamer, Chris Tikker, Gabe Abalos, Wendell Duncan, Nate Fua, Efren Gutierrez
Heading to WEFTEC in Chicago? The 2025 Ops Challenge will take place at WEF’s Annual Conference on September 29 and 30. Be sure to cheer on your fellow CWEA members and California! More information about Ops Challenge can be found at bit.ly/4oCXyPA.
In the world of sewage collection and treatment operations, few events rival the Operations Challenge (Ops Challenge) in scope, complexity, and prestige. The competition, hosted annually by the Water Environment Federation (WEF), brings together utility professionals from across the globe to compete in a series of physical and technically demanding events that mirror real-world scenarios. The Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer) made its return to this elite stage in 2024 after a 16-year hiatus.
Led by coach David Leamer, the newly formed team — known as the SacSewer Warriors—made its debut at WEFTEC 2024 in New Orleans with only two weeks of team-based practice under its belt. Despite its limited preparation time, the team placed mid-pack, among over 25 teams in the Tier 3 division—an outcome viewed internally as both encouraging and indicative of the team’s long-term potential.
The SacSewer Warriors are composed of skilled professionals from across SacSewer’s operations teams, dedicated to the essential work of collecting, treating, and recovering resources from sewage. The team includes Team Captain, Wendell Duncan, Chris Tikker, Gabe Abalos, Nate Fua, and Efren Gutierrez. Coach David Leamer, an assistant superintendent at SacSewer and seasoned Ops Challenge participant, has taken the lead in organizing practices and ensuring the team meets the strict technical standards of the competition.
Each Ops Challenge team is comprised of four competing members, an alternate, and a coach. While the SacSewer Warriors are represented by staff from collection and treatment specialties, other teams see representation from a variety of others, including electrical and instrumentation, mechanical maintenance, and laboratory technicians. This multidisciplinary approach reflects the broad scope of challenges encountered in modern sewage utilities.
The 2024 Ops Challenge was held in New Orleans, which is one of the largest to date, with teams from across the U.S. and abroad—including Finland, the UK, and Brazil—competing in what many consider the industry’s most rigorous field event. The Sacsewer Warriors competed in Division 3 and faced off against seasoned teams, including a highly ranked squad from Texas, a strong contingent from New York, and the “Turdinators” from the Indiana Water Environment Association.
The Ops Challenge is comprised of five events, including collections, maintenance, safety, laboratory, and process control. Each event simulates tasks that industry professionals may encounter in the field and is scored based on speed, accuracy, adherence to procedure, and teamwork.
In the collection event, the team must perform a series of tasks, including tapping a live 8-inch SDR35 pipe, installing an Inserta-Tee, repairing a section of pipe on a wet stand, and assembling a small tower using Victaulic fittings. Teams are scored not just on completion but also on tool control, safety, and execution quality. As always, the event starts and ends with all the tools in the toolbox—just like real life.
In the maintenance event, participants complete a full teardown and rebuild of a Vaughn chopper pump. The event starts and ends with the pump running in a tank of water. The exercise includes lockout/tagout procedures, electrical verification, crane operation, impeller replacement, and reassembly. The event demands both mechanical skills and procedural rigor. Safety is of the utmost importance and is reflected in the scoring.
During the safety event, teams perform a confined space rescue involving the retrieval of a mannequin from a simulated vault, followed by a check valve repair with lockout/tagout. Proper setup of the confined space entry system and execution of lockout/tagout protocols are essential components of the event. This is one of the most physically demanding events, with the two confined space entrants putting safety gear onto the mannequin and getting him back to the manhole for rescue, then racing to perform a lockout/tagout on the valves before the repair —all in under eight minutes.
The Lab event has been modified for 2025 to focus on two specific tests: orthophosphate and total residual chlorine. This change was made to streamline the competition and emphasize accuracy under pressure. Teams are judged on test precision and compliance with standard methods.
Often cited as the most intellectually challenging portion of the Ops Challenge, the process control event includes a 30-minute written exam and a SCADA-based troubleshooting simulation. Operators must interpret data, identify system malfunctions, and implement appropriate solutions. A mistake in one part of the test can ripple through and affect the overall score. One participant said this was the most intense 30 minutes you can have with a calculator.
Following their initial showing at WEFTEC, the SacSewer Warriors have expanded their presence on the national circuit. In 2025, the team competed at the New Jersey Water Environment Association (NJWEA) Challenge in Atlantic City, where it placed third in the Maintenance Event, and most recently in Colorado at the Rocky Mountain Rivalry Operations Challenge, where it placed second in the Maintenance Event.
“These events helped sharpen the team’s skills for the upcoming WEFTEC Ops Challenge finals in September 2025,” Duncan explained. “Participation in these events provides more than just competition; it facilitates professional development, inter-departmental collaboration, and technical cross-training.
“Every event you participate in brings exposure to new techniques, new technologies, and a better understanding of how others operate in the field.”
The Ops Challenge, first held in 1988, has evolved into a proving ground for emerging talents in the industry. For the SacSewer Warriors, it’s a platform to demonstrate capability and benchmark their internal training and procedures against national best practices.
While the team is still new to the competition scene, early results suggest that with continued investment in time and resources, they are likely to become a fixture in future events. More importantly, the team’s participation reflects the growing emphasis on workforce development and providing training opportunities for our technical staff to be well-rounded in various disciplines within the industry.
For the SacSewer, the broader goal is to build a sustainable workplace culture that values technical excellence, engagement, and collaboration.
“This isn’t just about winning a competition,” Leamer emphasized. “It’s about developing our team, pushing our limits, and making sure we’re ready for whatever comes next in the field.”
My Profile
