R.I. wastewater team wins regional competition

RHODE ISLAND-based wastewater treatment operators have won the regional "Operator Challenge" contest. From left to right, New England Water Environment Association president Raymond Willis stands with the winning team, Vinnie Russo Jr., Sam Sullivan, Ryan Patnode and Ed Davies, and the team's coach, Mike Spring. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
RHODE ISLAND-based wastewater treatment operators have won the regional "Operator Challenge" contest. From left to right, New England Water Environment Association president Raymond Willis stands with the winning team, Vinnie Russo Jr., Sam Sullivan, Ryan Patnode and Ed Davies, and the team's coach, Mike Spring. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Environmental Management said that the Ocean State Alliance Team, a team of Rhode Island-based wastewater treatment operators, won the regional “Operator Challenge” contest, which was held during the New England Water Environment Association’s annual conference earlier this month.

The “Operator Challenge” contest tests operators’ knowledge and instinct in wastewater collection and treatment.

“Congratulations to the Ocean State Alliance Team on this victory,” DEM Director Janet L. Coit in a statement on Monday. “Every day, some 120 million gallons of raw sewage are produced in our cities and towns. The work these operators do behind the scenes to properly collect and treat it is vital to the health of our families, waters and state. I am proud of the professional workforce we have in Rhode Island doing this often thankless work.”

The captains of the Ocean State Alliance Team are Vinnie Russo Jr. and Ed Davies of the Narragansett Bay Commission Fields Point Wastewater Treatment Facility, and Ryan Patnode and Sam Sullivan of the West Warwick Wastewater Treatment Facility. The team is coached by Mike Spring of NBC and sponsored by the Narragansett Water Pollution Control Association.

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Patnode and Spring both previously participated in DEM’s Wastewater Management Boot Camp for treatment plant operators.

The Ocean State Alliance Team placed first in overall finish for New England, as well as in the lab and maintenance/ pump repair category. The team finished in second place for safety and third for process control and collection system/ pipe repair.

The team’s first place finish has qualified them to participate in the national competition this fall in New Orleans.

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