Mitchell Sarney wins Water Industry Operations Group of New Zealand top award

Mitchell Sarney, flanked by Bruce Nesbitt and Keith Procter, with his award. Photo / Jack Penman

Kāpiti Coast District Council water treatment specialist Mitchell Sarney has won the industry’s most prestigious award.

Sarney was named the country’s Operator of the Year 2023 at the Water Industry Operations Group of New Zealand annual conference.

The award is an acknowledgement by industry peers to someone who has stood out in their efforts to improve themselves, their team or the profession.

“I’m proud to have received this award,” Sarney said.

“It’s great recognition of the hard mahi I have put into this role and of the support I’ve received from my teammates and managers.”

His prize, sponsored by Swan Analytical, was a nine-day study tour of water plants in Australia and a registration for the Water Industry Operations Group conference in Bendigo next February.

Sarney is a bulk water treatment specialist who, along with his colleagues, operates five water treatment plants from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki.

“I ensure that our treatment plants run smoothly and produce safe compliant water for our community.”

His job involves carrying out verification checks and calibrations of analytical instruments used at the treatment plants as well as mechanical maintenance, and collecting water samples from across the district for monitoring and biological testing.

“This role requires an operator to be on call 24 hours, seven days a week on a rotating four-week roster.

“If any faults occur, the duty operator gets alerted.

“For example, in heavy rain conditions, you might find yourself at the Waikanae Water Treatment Plant fault finding at 2am in the morning.”

Mitchell Sarney at work in the Water Treatment Plant in Waikanae. Photo / Justine Hall

Sarney enjoyed the wide range of tasks required to be a water treatment specialist.

“Every day is different and comes with its own challenges.

“Due to the huge range of technology in the water industry and the continuously changing environment you never stop learning.”

Sarney previously worked for Fonterra at the Kāpiti cheese processing plant.

“When I saw this job [water treatment specialist] advertised it appealed to me because I could see this was a career where I could apply my skills and still have opportunities to grow, learn and gain a trade.”

Sarney started the role in November 2019, began an apprenticeship in 2020 and achieved this with his level 4 certificate in multistage water treatment in December 2021.

He continued his training in 2022 and achieved his level five diploma in water treatment in December 2023.

Council infrastructure and asset management acting group manager Dave Hardy said the council was “proud of Mitch and to support staff to grow and develop in their careers”.

“We are committed to on-the-job training because it gives our team members a career pathway and leads to better outcomes for our community.”

“We also thank Mitch’s teammates and managers for supporting him and others to fulfil their professional goals.”