Awards
AMWA Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
October 2017- DPW received the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance. The Department was selected as one of only three agencies to receive a Gold Award. This award is for creating a strategic plan, building goal teams with members from all levels of the Department, introducing the Office of Strategy and Performance, and reorganizing its structure to break down silos.
September 2017 - The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) named Baltimore to receive a 2017 Excellence Award. Baltimore’s Citywide Municipal Trash Can Program won a bronze award in the collection systems category. The award was presented at SWANA’s annual WASTECON conference, held in Baltimore in September 2017.
Small Project of the Year Award
September 2017 - DPW received the 2017 Small Project of the Year Award from the County Engineers Association of Maryland (CEAM). This award was in recognition of the small project category, under $1 million, for the proactive repair of the Southwest Transmission Main.
George Warren Fuller Award, CSAWWA
August 2017 - DPW Director Chow, P.E., was honored by the Chesapeake Section of the American Water Works Association (CSAWWA) with the George Warren Fuller Award, the most prestigious award the group bestows. The award honors a member of the Chesapeake Section for distinguished service to the water supply industry.
July 2017 - DPW Director Chow was named Civil Engineer of the Year by the American Society of Civil Engineers Maryland Section. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Maryland and Delaware, and has more than 30 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry.
First Place Winner: Best-Tasting Drinking Water
May 2017 - Water from Baltimore’s Ashburton Water Filtration Plant won first place for best-tasting drinking water. The taste-test competition is held each year during National Drinking Water Week by the Chesapeake Section of the American Water Works Association.
APWA Mid-Atlantic Project of the Year
April 2017 - DPW Municipal Trash Can program was named “2017 Project of the Year” by the American Public Works Association (APWA) Mid-Atlantic Chapter. In Baltimore, the Municipal Trash Can program has been shown to make City trash collection more effective, keep our streets and alleys cleaner, and reduce evidence of vermin. The APWA award is in the category of environmental projects in the $5 million to $25 million range.
APWA Mid-Atlantic Public Works Hero Award
April 2017– DPW worker Alfonso Jenkins and Greg Schmidt received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Mid-Atlantic Chapter “Public Works Hero Award” for life-saving efforts they performed on a co-worker.
(This heroic act happened at DPW’s Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant, where all three gentlemen work. The co-worker survived thanks in part to Mr. Jenkins’ and Schmidt’s efforts.)
April 2017 - Nathaniel Krause won the 2017 Young Engineer of the Year by the Engineering Society of Baltimore (ESB). In addition, Krause received the Young Civil Engineer of the Year award from the Maryland Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in June 2016.
September 2016 – DPW was designated as a “Utility of the Future Today.” The program celebrates the progress and exceptional performance of the nation’s wastewater utilities. To obtain this recognition, utilities must demonstrate consistent, robust, and active engagement in areas that include: water reuse; watershed stewardship; beneficial bio-solids reuse; community partnering and engagement; energy efficiency; energy generation and recovery; and nutrient and materials recovery. This designation remains in effect until 2019.