What is Top Ops?
Top Ops is the “college bowl” of the water industry.
Teams of one, two, or three water operators or lab personnel from GAWWA compete against each other in a fast-paced question-and-answer tournament.
A moderator poses a broad range of technical questions including water treatment processes, safety, laboratory, maintenance, distribution, and basic science.
The team scoring the most points in the championship round is awarded the Top Ops Championship.
The winning team will be awarded with a trip to AWWA’s Annual Conference and Expo (ACE25) in Denver, CO to compete against the winning section teams across the USA and Canada.

 

Who can compete?
Teams of one, two, or three may consist of people from different organizations or utilities.
All team members must satisfy the following eligibility requirements:

  1. They must work full-time as a water treatment plant employee or a water distribution system employee. At least 50% of their time must be as a water treatment plant employee or a water distribution employee.
  2. They must possess a valid water operator, laboratory, and/or distribution license.
  3. Only individuals whose primary day-to-day job functions include hands-on operational tasks within the water utility or distribution system are eligible to compete. Teams may not include anyone with a more senior job function than a first line (fore person) supervisor. Engineers are not allowed to compete unless they are working as a full-time operator.

 

When and where is the competition?
The GAWWA Top Ops competition will take place April 15-16, 2025 at the GAWP Spring Conference in Columbus, GA.

 

Interested in Competing?
Follow these steps to secure your spot!

  1. Form your team of one, two, or three and review the rules at https://ace.awwa.org/Competitions/Top-Ops-Rules
  2. Reach out to Jordan Longoria at jordan@templeton-associates.com to confirm your team.

 

Note: There may be limited on-site registration available, but the number of rounds and questions are created in advance of the contest based on pre-registered teams.

 

Do you think you have what it takes to be the Top Ops team? Come and test your knowledge!