MANHATTAN, Kan. – October 22, 2025) — The City of Manhattan’s Department of Public Utilities once again has received several state and national awards recently for excellence in wastewater treatment processes.
Manhattan was selected as the 2025 recipient of two awards this year from the Kansas Water Environment Association (KWEA). The City received both the Class 5 Wastewater Treatment Plant Award (for plants that process more than 3 million gallons per day) and the Outstanding Biosolids Management Program.
The City previously was honored in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2022, and 2024 for its Biosolids program, and it also received the Class 5 Treatment Plant awards in 2001, 2002, 2015 (honorable mention) and 2024.
Randy DeWitt, the City’s interim director of public utilities, and Environmental Compliance Manager Abdu Durar, along with several other members of the department, received the awards on behalf of the City at an August 27 awards luncheon at the 2025 KWEA & KsAWWA Annual Joint Water and Wastewater Conference.
The City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) also was honored by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) during a July 23 ceremony during NACWA’s 2025 Utility Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The WWTP was recognized by NACWA for its outstanding level of compliance and performance related to its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. A NPDES permit is required for wastewater treatment facilities to discharge into waters of the United States. It outlines requirements that ensure discharges do not harm water quality or human health.
The plant was awarded the NACWA Peak Performance Platinum Award for achieving 100% compliance at the Gold level with no permit violations for the entire seven-year period (2018-2024).
This is the third consecutive year that the WWTP received the national NACWA award, and the second year in a row Manhattan was honored with all three awards.