Jeff Ashley, Steve Ruhd receive top awards from water-wastewater professional organization
Two of Morrison-Maierle’s Water-Wastewater employees have recently received top honors for their work from the Montana Section of the American Water Works Association and the Montana Water Environment Association. Jeff Ashley, PE, the firm’s water-wastewater market group office leader in Helena is Montana’s recipient of the American Water Works Association’s George Warren Fuller Award while Steve Ruhd received the MSAWWA-MWEA Lifetime Achievement Award.
George Warren Fuller Awards are presented annually in each state to selected members for their distinguished service to the water supply field. Fuller (1868–1934), an international expert in civil engineering, was responsible for innovations in water and wastewater treatment. He designed and built the first modern water filtration plant and chlorination system that disinfected drinking water in the United States.
For more than 19 years, Jeff Ashley’s experience in planning and design of municipal water treatment and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities has brought services to small, medium, and large communities throughout Montana. Jeff has focused primarily on water treatment solutions for several communities along the Hi-Line, in tribal communities in Montana and South Dakota, and the Bozeman area.
Jeff’s contributions to the water-wastewater engineering field are not only shown in his project work, but also to the profession itself. While most of his presentations and service to professional groups has been during his tenure at Morrison-Maierle, he has consistently been speaking, writing papers, serving on committees and holding office-level positions within professional organizations since 2011.
Steve Ruhd, also a former George Warren Fuller Award recipient, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Montana Section of AWWA.
With 40 years of experience, Steve was honored for his work as a water/wastewater operator and resident project representatives in Montana. His expertise in construction inspection, testing and quality control, municipal infrastructure planning, contract management, and trenchless technologies has been key to the success of many projects.
Steve began his career as a water meter reader in 1977. Prior to Morrison-Maierle, Steve worked for the City of Conrad for 30 years, 15 of those as the Public Works Director. At Morrison-Maierle, he served as a Resident Project Representative for many complex construction projects across the state. He recently retired from Morrison-Maierle in early 2018.