N.H. Sewer Snakes rise to challenge: Team brings home first place from national competition

NEWMARKET — A team of four wastewater treatment plant operators from New Hampshire known as the Seacoast Sewer Snakes won first place overall on Oct. 7 in a national competition of wastewater skills in New Orleans.

The Sewer Snakes dominated their division, with first place trophies in three events, a second place trophy in another, and a fourth in the remaining event. The team consisted of Captain Sean Greig of Newmarket, David Lovely of Rochester, Geoffrey Howe of Portsmouth, and Mike Carle of Hampton. Ed Rushbrook of Underwood Engineers, of Portsmouth and Concord, served as the team’s coach.

They earned the right to compete in the national competition by winning a regional competition in Newport, R.I., in June sponsored by the New England Water Environment Association. There the team demonstrated its skills in laboratory procedures, pump maintenance, safety, collection system repair, and overall wastewater treatment process knowledge.

After taking a short break following their win at the regional competition, the team practiced regularly at least one day a week, adding the last three Sundays leading up to the competition as well as Labor Day to their practice schedule. The national competition, sponsored by the Water Environment Federation and held at its annual conference in New Orleans, included 34 teams from Canada and Hawaii.

Called Operations Challenge, the 17-year-old competition requires a team to demonstrate its skills in five events. The events are judged based on speed, correctness of the procedure, and are required to be performed safely at all times.

Notably, the New Hampshire team was able to achieve a perfect score in the pump maintenance event, completing their task in winning time with no penalties for incompleteness or unsafe procedures. New Hampshire teams have competed successfully in the Operations Challenge in the past. However, this was the first time that a New Hampshire team had won an overall first place in a division. The team was sponsored by the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Association, the New England Water Environment Association, and a number of equipment vendors and consulting firms, which included ITT Flygt, E.J. Prescott, Severn-Trent Pipeline Services, and Underwood Engineers of Portsmouth.