Auburn Board of Public Works Water/ Wastewater Manager Alan Slater attended the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Nebraska Section annual conference in Kearney Nov. 6 through 8, 2023. While at the conference Alan teamed up with two other attendees from Lincoln to form the team “Auqa Avengers” and compete in the TOP OP’S competition. The TOP OP’S competition is designed to test the competitor’s knowledge regarding water related topics. Alan’s team placed first in the competition and won the honor of competing in the National TOP OP’S competition at the AWWA annual conference at Anaheim, Calif., Monday through Friday, June 10 through 14.
The competition will consist of three preliminary rounds for each team, two semi-final rounds and a championship round. Questions used in the competition are from the approved reference list posted on the AWWA website and have been verified by a minimum of three subject matter experts. Questions for the competition are categorized into the following subject areas: Safety, Water Treatment Processes, Laboratory, Maintenance, Distribution and Basic Science. Each question will be displayed on a monitor in front of the competitors and read aloud by the moderator. Once a question has been read, the competitors must write the answer on their white boards within 15 seconds for a non-math question or within 25 seconds for a math question. Points are awarded for the correct answer and points are deducted for incorrect answers to determine the teams that advance to the semi-finals and finals.
This is a tremendous honor in the water utility industry and speaks extremely highly of Alan’s knowledge and dedication to his profession. This is a great opportunity for Alan and great exposure for the BPW on a national stage. All of us at the BPW are proud of Alan and wish him and his team the best of luck at the national competition.
