STV’s Paul Roach, senior engineer, and Dawn Anderson, project manager and technical advisor, received the highest honors from the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) for their contributions to the Texas water environment and industry.
In recognition of his 53-year career and long-standing dedication to the industry, WEAT honored Roach with the Lifetime Achievement Award While Anderson received the Susan B. Hier Excellence in Education and Licensing award for her dedication to water and wastewater operations in the state.
An Austin-based organization, WEAT is a professional organization for water and wastewater professionals that advocates for the environment and clean water in Texas. With local chapters across Texas, WEAT is also part of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), which aims to preserve and enhance the global water environment.
Known throughout the Texas water community, Anderson and Roach are equally passionate about their craft as they are for the environment and for educating the next generation of water and wastewater professionals.
Throughout Anderson’s 36-year career, including 10 years at the City of Garland’s wastewater treatment plant and 26 years at STV, she has been part of complex projects for major water and wastewater utilities in North Texas.
She is also dedicated to educating and advancing plant operations and maintenance staff. Anderson promoted the state and national Operations Challenge—the multi-day competition where water professionals test their skills in operations—where she has served as a challenge judge and the pump maintenance event coordinator.
With a focus on enhancing treatment operations, Anderson developed STV’s Piloting Program, providing junior STV staff with hands-on field experience in conducting pilot testing of wastewater treatment processes with utilities, manufacturers, universities and chemical suppliers.
“Sharing my knowledge and experience in the industry with young professionals is part of how I give back to an industry that has been so generous to me. I am blessed to be part of this profession,” said Anderson.
Roach has provided program management for major capital projects throughout Texas for municipal water agencies and transportation agencies. For the past four decades, he has also served as WEAT president, board chair and board committee member and the WEF board director. Serving WEAT’s North Texas Section, his presidency was defined by a restructuring of WEAT’s committee network to better serve WEAT and its initiatives. At WEF, he was instrumental in developing a strategic organizational structure for the board that is still in use today.
“Everything we do in our industry is essential to daily life,” said Roach, who first began his career at the City of Dallas Water Utilities before becoming senior project manager at STV. “It’s truly a blessing to be able to serve our communities, locally and throughout the country and world, through our work.”
WEAT will honor both Anderson and Roach at the 2024 Texas Water conference in April, one of the largest regional water conferences in the United States.
