3 men honored for their work at City of Vacaville wastewater treatment plant

3 men honored for their work at wastewater treatment plant
By Reporter staff/
Posted: 12/14/2009

Three members of the city of Vacaville's Utilities Department were honored at the California Water Environment Associa-tion's Redwood Empire Section annual awards dinner held Nov. 20.

Senior wastewater operator Tim Erskine and senior mechanical leads Dave Psaila and Warren Banzet were recognized for their achievements in the wastewater field.

CWEA is a state association with more than 10,000 professionals in the wastewater industry, people dedicated to keeping California's water clean and stimulating public awareness of the importance of wastewater treatment to public health and the water environment.

Erskine has 16 years of service with the city. He was presented the Operator of the Year award. He was nominated by his fellow operators based on their recognition of his devotion to his job, and his tireless efforts to make the team more effective.

Psaila has 30 years of service with the city and was given the Mechanical Person of the Year award. Psaila has a CWEA grade 3 Mechanic certification. He was instrumental in the demo work of an old primary plant.

Banzet has 19 years of service with the city and received the Gimmicks and Gadgets award. Banzet developed and built a clamp-fastening tool that enhances safety by reducing the chance of repetitive motion injuries caused by the large number of clamps needing to be installed. This is the second consecutive year that Banzet has won that honor from the CWEA Redwood Empire Section. He also won the CWEA state award in 2008.

Each of three men will now compete with others statewide for the CWEA state award.