Metro Teams Finish Strong at 2025 Rocky Mountain Rivalry

The annual Operations Challenge at Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) is often regarded as the “Olympics of wastewater operations” as teams from around the globe compete in a variety of events.

An Operations Challenge competition consists of five events where teams are judged on accuracy, time, and safety. The competition kicks off with a test as teams are quizzed on process control. Shortly after, the physical events kick off.

Here’s a breakdown of the competition:

A table with awards for the 2025 Rocky Mountain Rivalry. Teams are judged in 5 categories

Laboratory Event: Teams conduct lab activities where they are judged on a series of tests and analyses, ensuring accurate monitoring and control of wastewater treatment processes.

Safety Event: Teams mimic a sewer rescue in a confined space as they descend from a platform to rescue a dummy. They then lock out valves with safety tags, repair a check valve, and unlock valves before scurrying back up to the top of the platform.

Maintenance Event: Teams race against the clock to restore a pump to service. As the clock ticks, a gantry is assembled to hoist the pump out of a tank of water. Meanwhile a team member is checking voltage to shut off power before the pump is lifted. Once out of the water, the pump is disassembled and rebuilt before being returned to the tank.

Collections Event: Arguably the fastest-paced and most exciting event, a leaky pipe repair is simulated as the team saws off and swaps portions of pipes. One member is assembling a Victaulic tower as the other three are cutting and drilling the pipes for the replacement. Once tightened and leak proof, the team calls time. With luck, everything is done under a minute and a half.

Off to WEFTEC We Go

Before teams in our region can compete in the finals at WEFTEC (the Olympics of wastewater operations), they must get through the Rocky Mountain Rivalry Operations Challenge! This invitational, coordinated through the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association (RMWEA), brings regional operations challenge teams from various wastewater treatment utilities together to face off against each other. The top three teams from this event advance to WEFTEC’s Operations Challenge this September in Chicago.

In its second year as an invitational, six teams attended, including a new local team and a team from Sacramento, CA. In the end, both Metro’s Operations Challenge Teams, Elevated Ops and Double Duty, placed in the Rivalry and will advance onto the showdown in Chicago. The final standings mirrored last year’s Rocky Mountain Rivalry for Metro’s teams. Now, the teams will rest then practice to prepare to take on some of the world’s best teams in September.

Team Double Duty scored 3rd place overall.

Orren West coordinated the Rocky Mountain Rivalry after bringing the Ops Challenge to Metro several years ago — Orren West hosts the 2025 Rocky Mountain Rivalry

Metro’s Director of Maintenance, Orren West, coordinates the Rocky Mountain Rivalry. He also recently made an appearance on the Streaming Water podcast to discuss the Operations Challenge.

You can listen to the podcast at the link below

Streaming Water: Ops Challenge