| Water community’s spirit soars during ACE22 skills competitions
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Water community’s spirit soars during ACE22 skills competitions

Amid cheering and high-fives, enthusiastic competitors demonstrated the water profession’s advanced skills, knowledge and experience during this week’s exciting contests at the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE22) in San Antonio, Texas.

Former champions and newcomers representing AWWA sections across North America battled for the 2022 title and bragging rights in skills competitions and water taste tests, a crowd-pleasing tradition at ACE. (Pictured above, Hydrant Hysteria competition.)

Following is a summary of ACE22 contest results.

Hydrant Hysteria: Two-member teams race to assemble a specified hydrant
Men’s

  • 1st – 1:16.91, Wauconda/Des Plaines, Illinois Section
  • 2nd – 1:31.69, Beaufort/Jasper WSA, South Carolina Section
  • 3rd – 1:53.19, Magic City Mechanics, Alabama/Mississippi Section

Women's Hydrant winnersWomen’s 

  • 1st – 1:45.91, Hydrant Honeys, North Carolina Section (Pictured right.)
  • 2nd – 2:04.09, Village Vixens, Illinois Section
  • 3rd – 2:11.00, Brozettes, Arizona Section

Meter Challenge: Contestants race to reassemble working water meters from parts

  • 1st – 32.87, David Marinella, Ohio Section 
  • 2nd – 51.04, Hector Diaz, California-Nevada Section

Pipe Tapping: Top section-level teams race to tap a cement-lined, ductile iron pipe

Pipe tapping men's 1st placeMen’s

  • 1st – 1:05.16, SADM Apodaca, Mexico Section (Pictured right)
  • 2nd – 1:21.25, Bama Boyz, Alabama/Mississippi Section
  • 3rd – 1:22.15, Alamo Drillers, Texas Section

Women’s

  • 1st – 2:12.28, Big D Lady Tappers, Texas Section
  • 2nd – 2:26.25, Lady Bandits, Texas Section
  • 3rd – 2:46.28, Lansing Lethal Ladies, Michigan Section

Top Ops: Teams of operators and lab technicians compete to score the most points answering scientific questions and math problems

  • 1st – East Bay Ozonators, California-Nevada Section

Best of the Best Taste Test winnerBest of the Best Taste Test – A panel of experts determine which AWWA Section taste test winner is “best of the best” (Winners pictured left.)

  • 1st – WaterOne, Kansas City, Kansas 
  • 2nd – City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska
  • 3rd – City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota

People’s Choice Taste Test – ACE participants at tasting stations vote on their favorite AWWA Section taste test winner

  • 1st – WaterOne, Kansas City, Kansas
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