Despite recent winter challenges, the Latham Water District was nationally recognized recently, winning three awards so far this year.
After earning the Top Tasting Tap Water in Albany County, the Water District won the award statewide from the American Water Works Association. It also won both local and statewide best project awards for filter failures at the Mohawk View Water Treatment Plant. However, perhaps the biggest award so far went to Water District Supervisor John Frazer, who won the George Warren Fuller award.
Frazer became the 75th person in New York to win the George W. Fuller award from the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The award is presented to AWWA members for distinguished service in the water field that characterized Fuller’s lifetime achievements.
Fuller was an innovative force in the water treatment field. In his 44 year career, he built the first modern water filtration plant and the first chlorination system to purify drinking water.
“I was flattered to get (the award),” said Frazer. “It was a goal of mine to earn it. I was really appreciative of the fact that I was recognized by my peers for the work I had done.”
“I was very proud to hear that John Frazer was selected as the recipient of the 2015 George W. Fuller Award,” said town supervisor Paula Mahan. “This award is considered to be the most prestigious award in the water industry. John has a tremendous amount of knowledge in this area, and he is truly an asset to the Town of Colonie.”
The award recipient is selected after being recommended to AWWA’s governing board in the state. The organization’s section director then works with people close to the recipient to create a biography.
Frazer said it was a complete surprise until the awards ceremony in Saratoga on April 14, when he heard his biography being read. “You don’t know about it until then,” he said.
Frazer said the section director worked with his wife and the town’s water engineer Dan Seaver for the biography. In all, he said that maybe 20 people know before the award is given out.
Frazer, who has been working at the Latham Water District since 1995, has been serving as superintendent for 15 years. In 2004, he joined the centennial committee for the New York Section of AWWA and began working on the special edition of the AWWA New York Section of “Aquarius,” the organization’s magazine. He said that he felt his work on the 100th anniversary and putting the magazine together played a hand in his earning the award.
The magazine includes the 100-year history of water supply in the state, challenges overcome, and the future of water works.
Nobody can do this on their own,” said Frazer. “This is not just an award necessarily for me…. It’s not an award won by just one person.”
The George Warren Fuller Award is not all the Latham Water District can claim, however. The water filtration replacement project received best medium-sized project in the New York AWWA section after three filters at the Water Treatment Plant uplifted and began to break apart. As well, Latham’s water won the best tasting in the state after winning the title countywide in May 2014.
