RECAP OF 2022 FSAWWA FALL CONFERENCE

“BEST OF THE BEST” Water Taste Test

S Kim Kowalski, past FSAWWA chair

S Bill Young, past FSAWWA chair

S Michelle Hektor, AWWA Water Equation chair

All the judges based their scores on the taste, color, odor, and clarity of the 12 samples, one from each FSAWWA region.

The event emcees were:

S Terri Holcomb, Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority

S Greg Taylor, Wright-Pierce Inc.

Citrus County was the declared winner, which will represent FSAWWA at the AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE23) competition in Toronto in June 2023!

Water Bowl

Winner: University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) retained the champion title at the 2022 Young Professionals Water Bowl. The UCF has been the champion for the past seven years. Three UCF teams competed for the title in the singleelimination competition format, with a fourth team from University of Florida (UF).

This year’s team winners were Gabriele Brummer, Tulsi Shukla, and Valerie Artusa.

The contest is modeled after the classic “College Bowl” television quiz. Team members

Water Bowl

were asked questions about the water industry, encompassing water chemistry, operations, and the design of treatment systems.

Michael Stanley, Young Professionals Committee chair, with the help of other volunteers, facilitated the event.

Poster Contest Winner: University of Florida

Dr. “Patrick” Yulin Zheng from the University of Florida was the 2022 Fresh Ideas poster competition winner. His poster’s title is “Remove and Reclaim Phosphorous From Wastewater with Engineered Biochar: Methods and Application.”

By winning the competition, Patrick receives a trip to ACE23, to be held in June in Toronto. He will compete with contest winners from other AWWA sections across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Operator Events

Hydrant Hysteria

Hydrant Hysteria is a fast-paced two-person competition to determine who can assemble a fire hydrant in the fastest time. Two or more teams go head-to-head while assembling the hydrant to see who will be crowned Hydrant Hysteria champion. In 2022, there were two women’s teams from JEA that participated.

Event Winners for Men

First Place: JEA

Second Place: City of West Melbourne

Third Place: City of West Palm Beach

The first-place winner, JEA, qualifies to compete at ACE23 in Toronto in June.

Event Winner for Women

First Place: JEA

Facilitators for this event were:

S Seth Daniel, Clow Valve

S Josh Anderson, Florida Pipeline Sales

Meter Challenge

The Meter Challenge (the name was changed from Meter Madness) is a competition where participants receive a bucket of meter parts for a specific water meter to assemble against the clock. After assembly, the meter must work correctly and not leak. Three to six miscellaneous parts are included in the bucket to make it more interesting.

Meter Challenge Winners

First Place: Luis Fernandez, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department

Second Place: Gilberto Garcia, JEA

Third Place: Brian Peeples, Clay County Utility Authority

Continued on page 43

Poster Contest Meter Challenge

Men’s first-place team from

Hydrant Hysteria

Women’s first-place team from JEA.

Ductile Iron Tap And Fun Tap Competitions

Continued from page 41

As the first-place winner, Fernandez qualifies to attend ACE23 in Toronto to compete in the AWWA competition.

Helping to facilitate the event were:

S Erik Engram, JEA

S Josh Anderson, Florida Pipeline Sales

Tapping Contests

Using skill, dexterity, and speed, teams of four compete for the fastest time as they perform a quality drill and tap of a pipe under available pressure. Two taps are allowed per team. The Fun Tap is the simpler version of the two contests.

Ductile Iron Tap Winners

First Place: JEA Water Boys

Second Place: Miami-Dade Water and Sewer

Department

Third Place: City of West Melbourne

Fun Tap Winners

First Place: Lee County Utilities

Second Place: City of West Palm Beach

Third Place: Bonita Springs Utilities

The first-place winners, JEA and Lee