GOAL
The purpose of the GRA Awards Program is to recognize noteworthy projects and unique individual contributions related to the protection and management of groundwater in California.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Annual Awards Program are:
- To provide recognition to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and continuous dedication in the field of groundwater management;
- To provide recognition for unique contributions to the field of groundwater management, and, To provide recognition to GRA (as an organization) whose mission is dedicated to resource management that protects and improves groundwater through education and technical leadership.
AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement: presented to individuals for their exemplary contributions to the groundwater industry, contributions that have been in the spirit of GRA's mission and organization objectives. Individuals that receive the Lifetime Achievement Award have dedicated their lives to the groundwater industry and have been pioneers in their field of expertise.
Previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners include:
- 2008 - Dr. Perry L. McCarty
- 2007 - Dr. Herman Bouwer
- 2006 - Glenn Brown
- 2005 - Dr. Luna P. Leopold
- 2004 - Dr. John Bredehoeft
- 2003 - Rita Schmidt Sudman
- 2002 - Tom Dibblee
- 2001 - Carl Hauge
- 2000 - Joseph H. Birman
- 1999 - David Keith Todd
- 1998 - Eugene E. Luhdorff, Jr.
Kevin J. Neese: recognizes significant accomplishment by a person or entity within the most recent 12-month period that fosters the understanding, development, protection and management of groundwater.
Previous Kevin J. Neese Award winners include:
- 2008 - Orange County Water District for its Groundwater Replenishment System (GRS), a new water purification plant that became operational last January
- 2007 - University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Groundwater Hydrology Program for its efforts to engage scientists, regulators, farm advisors, dairy industry representatives, and dairy farmers to better understand the effects of dairy operations on water quality
- 2006 - Senator Sheila Kuehl for her work to improve the production and availability of information about the state of our groundwater resources
- 2004 - California Department of Water Resources for publication in 2003 of its updated Bulletin 118: "California's Groundwater"
- 2002 - Glenn County Water Advisory Committee for formulating a significant groundwater management ordinance that was adopted by the Glenn County Board of Supervisors
- 2001 - American River Basin Cooperating Agencies and Sacramento Groundwater Authority Partnership for fostering the understanding and development of a cooperative approach to regional planning, protection and management of groundwater
- 2000 - Board of Directors of the Chino Basin Watermaster for delivering a remarkable OBMP that created a consensus-based approach for making water supplies in the Chino Basin more reliable and cost effective
- 1999 - Governor Gray Davis for his work and leadership in addressing MTBE
PRESENTATION
Awards are formally presented to all recipients at GRA's Annual Meeting, which usually takes place in the fall every year. |
