BC Water News Exclusives

The city of Desert Hot Springs not only has some of the finest-tasting water in the world, it is also home to an award-winning water treatment facility.

Mission Springs Water District will receive four awards for its Horton Wastewater Treatment Plant during ceremonies Feb. 3 at the annual Colorado River Basin Section (CORBS) awards banquet in Palm Springs.


	The Horton Wastewater Treatment Plant crew includes (from left) Shane Wienecke, Lee Boyer, Chris Jacobson, Greg Chapman, Chris Pepple and Wayne Robertson.

The awards are presented by CORBS, the local section of the California Water Environment Association (CWEA). MSWD is now eligible to enter CWEA’s state-level “Plant of the Year” competition, for which judging will take place later this year.

MSWD collected awards for “2006 Collections System of the Year” and the coveted “2006 Plant of the Year.” Horton WTP Lead Operator Lee Boyer won the “2006 Collections Operator of the Year” award, and Chief Plant Operator Wayne Robertson garnered the “2006 Supervisor of the Year” award.


Boyer	Robertson

Robertson is an 18-year MSWD employee, and Boyer also won “Operator of the Year” in 2001 and 2004. Robertson and Boyer will accept their awards at the banquet next month.

This is the sixth “Plant of the Year” award for MSWD, which entered the competition in the 1 mgd to 5 mgd category.

CWEA judges use as critieria the State Water Resource Control Board discharge requirement compliance, safety records, plant and equipment operation and maintenance, training and certification of operators, economizing operations and overall appearance at the plant.

MSWD’s previous honors include “Collection System of the Year” award, “State Safety Award for Wastewater Treatment Plants,” and the “Theodore Roosevelt Conservation” award.

Oh, and the water is pretty tasty, too. MSWD won the gold medal in 1999 and 2004 for the "Best Tasting Water in the World," a competition in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. With five medals in eight showings, MSWD is the only water agency to have won all three medals (gold, silver and bronze)..

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