Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and USA lead the field

 

Hennef. For the first time at the Open German Championship in wastewater engineering held by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA), the wastewater treatment plant and sewer professionals and trainees from the sector competing for the cup also included two all-female teams - and the women’s team of the Bayerischen Verwaltungsschule (Bavarian School of Administration BVS) from Augsburg, Hof and Aschaffenburg directly achieved a good second place in the discipline “Process control”. The team had to present the control of a water treatment plant using magnetic cards on a whiteboard.

In the overall ranking of the Wastewater Treatment Professionals, the women’s team achieved fourth place among a total of twelve teams. The best water treatment plant team overall was the second BVS team with members from Augsburg, Schönberg and Gersthofen. The Stuttgart All Stars gained silver, the team from the USA made it to third place.

The best team in the category Trainees was from the service companies Neuwied, followed by the urban drainage works of Nuremberg and Team 2 of the Munich drainage works. In total, seven trainee-teams took part in the competition.

In the Sewage Professionals’ competition, where 15 teams took part, the team from the USA prevailed, followed by Nuremberg and Stuttgart in second and third place.

The participants in the three categories Trainees, Sewage and Wastewater Treatment Professionals had to master various disciplines. While the trainees had to prove their ability in all disciplines, the professionals were able to choose between two disciplines.

With the professional competition for the operating personnel in wastewater treatment plants, which the DWA holds every two years during the environmental fair IFAT, the association aims to promote young talent, set quality standards and, at the same time, tackle the shortage of skilled personnel.

“More and more employers are taking an interest in competitions”, said a delighted Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of the DWA department Training and International Relations (BIZ), “because they mean an image boost for your company if your own team does well.” But also a lower ranking is “no disgrace”. The participants in the competition always come across as motivated and that is a win-win situation – for employers and employees alike. In this regard, the competition is “also a factor for your own career, as it provides impetus for further development”.

The fourth Open German Championship in wastewater engineering is planned for May 2018. Information at abwassermeisterschaft@dwa.de. Impressions from this year’s event can be seen in the IFAT trade fair film under: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eMqCn5iTPGk.