One water awards nominations open; partnership expands

Awards program recognizes sustainable solutions to state's water challenges.

Nominations are open for the second annual New Jersey One Water Awards program, which recognizes integration in water projects and programs. Two additional organizations have become One Water sponsors this year. Together the sponsors represent over 9,000 members each of whom work to advance aspects of integrated water management.

The One Water Awards spotlight projects and programs that exemplify integration across the water cycle, that reflect collaboration, innovation, and public education, and that advance long-term sustainability by meeting multiple needs and generating multiple benefits. The five sponsoring organisations are:

American Water Resources Association's New Jersey section (AWRA-NJ)

American Water Works Association's New Jersey section (AWWA-NJ)

Association of Environmental Authorities (AEA)

Jersey Water Works (JWW)

New Jersey Water Environment Association (NJWEA)

"We are excited to open the 2018 nomination period to honor One Water projects across the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors," said Brian Carr, chair of AWWA-NJ. "We are excited to partner with all of these organisations because we all have sustainable, clean water in our missions."

"Last year the jury had difficulty deciding among applications, because so many of the nominated projects had meaningful stakeholder collaboration and powerful results," said Jen Brunton, director of environmental services at Louis Berger, also a member of the 2017 One Water Awards jury and a member of the Steering Committee of Jersey Water Works. "We decided on a tie in the public category. We are definitely eager to see all the entries this year."

The winners in 2017 were the City of Hoboken, the Landis Sewerage Authority in Vineland, Middlesex Water Company, and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. Each organization received a trophy and recognition from their peers at the annual conferences of each sponsoring organization. 

"We were impressed with the number of strong applications that the awards program received in its first year, and we look forward to seeing the progress that One Water is making as a resource management strategy across the state," said Peggy Gallos, executive director at AEA, also a member of the 2017 One Water Awards jury and a member of the Steering Committee of Jersey Water Works.

Both AWRA-NJ and NJWEA are joining the partnership in 2018 for the first time.

"The purpose of the One Water Awards couples well with AWRA-NJ's mission statement, and we are confident that this partnership will help tighten the bonds and expand the network of New Jersey's water resource community - an important component of long-term sustainability," said Virginia Michelin, past president of AWRA-NJ and member of the 2017 One Water Awards jury.

"This is a great opportunity to promote sustainable, integrated approaches to managing our state's most precious resource. We at NJWEA are proud to help incentivize projects and programs that employ innovation and education with other community benefits," said Robert DeBlock, incoming president of NJWEA.

The One Water Awards will be presented in three categories: public, private and non-profit/academic. Eligible projects or programs must be located in New Jersey and, projects must have been completed within the past five years or, if under construction, must be at least 50 percent complete. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Sept. 30, 2018. For complete awards program rules, visit New Jersey One Water Awards. 

Honorees will be announced at the AEA conference in November 2018, awarded trophies at the JWW conference in December and recognized at industry events including the AWRA-NJ conference in December 2018, the AWWA-NJ conference in March 2019 and the NJWEA conference in May 2019.