Palmerston North's Alby Shaw wins Water Industry Operations Group award

The Water Industry Operations Group Operator of the Year 2020 is Alby Shaw. The Palmerston North Council employee stood out for dedication, passion and commitment to the industry. Photo / Supplied

Palmerston North City Council has received a number of awards for the way it takes care of water.

The council's water team received four awards at the Water Industry Operations Group conference in Hawke's Bay last month.

Alby Shaw won Operator of the Year. The award is an acknowledgement by industry peers to an individual who has stood out in their efforts to improve themselves, their team or the profession.

Shaw has worked for the council since 2015, when he was hired as an apprentice.

Manager of water and waste operations, Mike Monaghan, says he was saw Shaw's talent from the beginning.

"Alby's commitment to his work and our community has not gone unnoticed. It's never too much trouble for Alby to work extra hours to help with urgent repairs," Monaghan says.

"Alby has honed his hands-on, practical tradesman skills to become our get-it-done guy. This is why our apprentice scheme is so powerful, as we now have in-house specialists that are far superior to hiring contractors."

Tama Whatuira and Steve Kinane from the council's wastewater team came second in the live tapping category, which is where a new water pipe is added to an existing water main without having to disconnect water supply.

The project manager for the council's Nature Calls wastewater project, Melaina Voss, won Best Supplier Paper for her paper that outlined the process for refining options for Palmerston North's future wastewater treatment and discharge.

Palmy's water also made it into the top three for best tasting drinking water at the awards.

The council's communications team took home an award at the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Awards, also last month.

The entry focused on the council's day-to-day water communications strategy, and how that enabled such a great response last year when the water main that supplies two-thirds of the city's water burst.