The West Salem Water Department as well as one of its employees were honored recently by being nominated for two prestigious awards in the field.

In mid-March, the Wisconsin Rural Water Association notified the department that it was nominated for the System of the Year award and water utility superintendent Jack Twining was up for the Lifetime Achievement award.

“It’s quite an honor to get the nomination, and if we’re lucky enough or fortunate enough to get it, that would be pretty special,” said Public Works Director Wade Peterson.

This is the first time the West Salem Water Department — which is operated as a utility under the public works department — has been nominated for either award, although Peterson won Operator of the Year in 2004. Nominations for such awards come from peers in the water industry, including officials from the Department of Natural Resources, engineering firms and vendors. Awards are presented at the WRWA’s annual convention.

The WRWA, part of a national, non-profit organization, represents over 90 percent of municipal water systems in the state; it represents 650 water supply members, which include municipalities, schools and businesses. Its main purpose is to focus on water quality and quantity issues in addition to providing training and technical assistance.

Ken Blomberg, executive director of WRWA, said being nominated for the awards West Salem has been speaks highly of its water department.

“Just being nominated is an honor considering the number of systems across the state,” Blomberg said. “It means their peers have recognized them as outstanding as an individual or system.”

The West Salem Water Department is responsible for delivering drinking water to everyone in the community. The department operates three wells, an iron and manganese filter treatment system and about 22 miles of water main. The water department includes 300 fire hydrants, 1,500 water meters and 450 valves.

While all seven employees of the West Salem Public Works department do interact with the water department, its main employees consist of operator Loren Schwier, who has been with West Salem for seven years, and Twining.

On April 21, Twining will have been with the West Salem Public Works Department for 26 years. While the Lifetime Achievement award is based on years of experience, performance and accomplishments are also taken into consideration.

“Some of it’s because he’s been there a long time and some of it’s that he’s done an outstanding job,” said Peterson of Twining. “He’s an extremely valuable member of the department, and his knowledge of our water system is kind of above reproach.

“His knowledge of the system is pretty key. He’s really timely with keeping up with DNR requirement and things like testing.”

Twining said he was honored to be nominated for the award.

“It’s a little gratitude for the years that I’ve been doing this,” he said.

Criteria considered for System of the Year awards include customer relations, water quality, regulatory compliance and developing educational material.

The WRWA’s annual convention will be held in Green Bay April 8-11; the awards ceremony is April 9.