Water expert lands top award

When it comes to water industry operators, Carterton's Selwyn Osborne is at the top of his field.

Mr Osborne, reticulation team leader at Carterton District Council, was recently named Water Industry Operations Group New Zealand operator of the year, at the group's annual conference in Wellington.

Awarded by his water industry peers, it recognised Mr Osborne's "outstanding performance, innovation and commitment to the water industry profession", his certificate said.

Mr Osborne said receiving the award was a big surprise, as it was open to 120-150 water operators throughout the country.

It was Mr Osborne's boss, Carterton District Council operations manager Garry Baker, who nominated him for the award.

"Selwyn is thirsty for knowledge," he said. "He is always learning new skills and sharing those with his team."

As far as Mr Baker was aware, Mr Osborne was the first Wairarapa person to win the award.

Mr Osborne had a wall full of certificates to illustrate the many qualifications he had gained in his more than 10 years on the job, Mr Baker said.