KANE COUNTY WATER ASSOCIATION
Attention KCWA Members!
Kane tap water taste panel picks Geneva's
December 18, 2009
By MIKE DANAHEY mdanahey@scn1.com
Geneva's tap water topped a field of seven samples vying Thursday for the area's best-tasting designation at the Kane County Water Association's December meeting.
It was the first time Geneva has gone home with the annual honor, beating a field that included defending champion Aurora along with the communities of Batavia, Carpentersville, Elgin, North Aurora and Sugar Grove.
Bob Van Gyseghem, Geneva's superintendent of water and wastewater, said the winning entry offered a combination of deep and shallow well water. The village's water plant is about 18 months old, and Van Gyseghem said its water goes through reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration before making it into the pipes and out the faucet.
According to Geneva's Web site, "In addition to removing hardness, though, the RO membranes remove a good portion of other dissolved minerals in the water, which can contribute to better-tasting water. This technology is used by many bottled water providers to purify the water before bottling. With our new treatment facility, we will be blending water from the RO system with a small percentage of well water that does not go through the RO system to add minerals back into the water. By doing this, the taste of our water will be similar to that of many bottled waters."
"We get a lot of compliments on how it tastes," Van Gyseghem said.
"Team Geneva" was represented by Plant Supervisor Mike Martens and operators James Childress and Mike Anderson. Thursday's win moves Geneva to a statewide competition in March in Springfield, and that champion heads off to a national competition later next year in Chicago.
Serving as judges were Richard Faltz, president of Fox Valley Winery in Oswego; Tony Szabo, owner of Midwest Mobile Washers of Morrison; Danielle Tufano, evening radio host on 95.9 The River; and this reporter.
The judges agreed that, but for one sample and an occasional hint of chlorine, the entries all were clear and generally pleasant-tasting.
AWWA is Seeking Volunteers for 2010 ACE
The 2010 American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Exposition will be held in Chicago. The Illinois Section AWWA is very excited to be hosting this event as we did in 1999. The ACE10 is over one year away but hosting the ACE10 will require many volunteers. As a volunteer, you will be eligible for a free admission to another day.
Click here to download the volunteer brochure
Click here to volunteer online
For more information please visit: www.isawwa-portal.com
Michael Bourgerie & Jeremy Barkei
State's Water Plant Operators Recognize Peers as "Best" In Their Classes at Annual Event
2009 Operators of the Year hail from Clinton, Jo Daviess and Kane counties
Springfield, Ill. –As part of their annual meeting in Springfield, the Illinois Potable Water Supply Operators Association (IPWSOA) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recognized the outstanding professionals in their individual categories of service in a ceremony. Around 1000 members and guests of the IPWSOA honored Jack Hendrick, Gateway Regional Water Company; Jeremy Barkei, Village of North Aurora; and Tim Brant, Apple Canyon Lake, Galena Territory for their work in providing plentiful, safe drinking water on a daily basis to users. Operators are rated on the day-to-day operation of facilities that use surface water or groundwater as their water source, or purchase water from another source and distribute it to consumers. "Operator of the Year" is the highest professional honor operators can receive in recognition of service and performance in the waterworks industry. In addition, runners-up are designated in each category. Jack Hendrick, Manager of the Gateway Regional Water Commission was recognized as Operator of the Year in the surface water category. Jack has been in the water business for 32 years and is responsible for helping to construct and manage the Gateway Water System which serves 12 communities. He is also a member of the Southern Illinois Water Operator’s Assoc. James Lang, Plant Superintendent for the City of Mattoon and Michael Bourgerie, Water Operator for the City of Elgin were runners-up in the surface water category. Jeremy Barkei, Senior Water Operator for the City of North Aurora, won the award for public water supplies using groundwater. Jeremy has seven years of experience in the water industry. Their water system has 5,739 service connections, 85 miles of main, and Jeremy is responsible for maintaining five wells and two radium removal treatment plants. He is also Vice President of the Kane County Water Association. Tom Shrewsbury, Water Superintendent for the Village of Hebron and Russell Schoon, Maintenance Supervisor for the Village of Ashkum were runners-up in this category. Tim Brant, Area Manager for Utilities Inc., which covers Apple Canyon Lake and the Galena Territory, took the award for distribution-only systems operation. Tim has been in the water industry for 22 years. He is responsible for a distribution system that has 117 miles of main, 3,100 service connections, four underground storage tanks and two booster stations. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Village of Scales Mound. Runners up in this category were Michael Govreau, Utility Superintendent for the Village of Glen Carbon and Gil Lubuguin, Senior Pump Station Operator for the Village of Oak Park. The recognitions came during the group's 79th annual conference that runs from Wednesday through Friday, highlighted by a street fair and recognition dinner at Springfield's Crown Plaza hotel. Winners of the 2009 awards were announced and received their trophies during that event. The winners are chosen by selection committee that interviews nominees during a fly-around of the state. Committee members use a numeric system to rate nominees. The results are then tallied and winners selected by computer. Speakers and displays at the 2009 conference focused on changing technology and improving traditional operations. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the IPWSOA co-sponsor the conference. The Agency oversees operations of approximately 1,800 public water supplies serving Illinois and their compliance with federal and state drinking water regulations.
For more information: | |
http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=18&RecNum=7875
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2010 OFFICERS
The KCWA executives board would like to thank all of you who applied for the Treasurer’s positions for the 2010 year. We are impressed with the enthusiasm and interest from all the great applicants. We look forward to working with all of the applicants next year.
Without further delay, here are our 2010 officers: Treasurer- Lisa Jordan Secretary- Chris Lemke Vice President- Kelly Fitzgibbon President – Jeremy Barkei
Congratulations to the newest officers and thank you once again to all the applicants!
2009 KCWA Scholarship winners:
$1000 Karla Blanco
$500 Daniel T. Watson Gregory E. Booth
Are you interested in becoming a KCWA Member? For information on becoming a member, please contact: Lisa Jordan Illinois Section AWWA 545 South Randall Road St. Charles, IL. 60174
OR
Download and print out a membership application:
Membership Application (pdf)
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