Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/682833
5 Celebration time… G ood food, great entertainment, the awards ceremony, and charity casino were the order of the night at this year's Water Industry Achievement Awards (WIAA), which took place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole at the NEC, Birmingham on May 17. More than 550 guests attended the prestigious event, organised by WET News and Water & Wastewater Treatment (WWT), to recognise, reward and applaud the innovative achievements of the award winners and … nalists. It was a double celebration as well, as the annual event marked its tenth anniversary. The evening got underway with a drinks reception where guests received star treatment – walking the red carpet and getting 'papped'. The awards' very own paparazzi made sure guests felt like celebrities for the evening. With guests having settled at their tables in the Hilton's Palace Suite, WET News editor Maureen Gaines and WWT editor James Brockett took to the stage to get proceedings underway. They outlined what was in store for the evening, and reminded guests that they should be congratulated for having made it this far in the awards selection process. Following dinner, the main event began. Electric string quartet Mania dazzled the audience with their high-impact and unique blend of specially arranged pop and classical crossover music. Comedian and awards host Alun Cochrane had guests in stitches as he warmed them up before getting down to the business of the day – the awards ceremony itself. It was time to reveal the winners of this year's Water Industry Achievement Awards. The … rst winner of the night was Severn Trent Water, which walked away with the Wipro- sponsored Data Project of the Year for its Sewer Rehabilitation Programme. Next up was Health and Safety Initiative of the Year, sponsored by Selwood. This award went to South West Water Delivery Alliance H5O and the WESC Foundation for their Sight Speci… c training programme. The Teekay Couplings- sponsored Engineer of the Year followed with the trophy going to Howard Lewis, community operations delivery manager at Aš nity Water, who had impressed with his problem-solving expertise.