Hach Company announces the City of Hutchinson, Minnesota is the recipient of the Fan Favorite prize of $20,000 in Hach equipment. The prize was awarded as part of Hach’s “See the Big Picture” Contest designed to help municipal wastewater plants see what they were missing by infrequent monitoring. Over 17,000 public votes were received via Facebook, with Hutchinson’s “talking dog” video earning the most votes.

“We are thrilled to be chosen as the Fan Favorite,” Troy Zwilling, Lab Supervisor of City of Hutchinson, commented. “Like many municipalities, we are being asked to lower expenses and this new equipment will help. Electricity and personnel costs can be reduced with online monitoring equipment like Hach’s LDO® and the PHOSPHAX™ phosphate analyzer, especially for the weekend operations.”

WEFTEC in October, Hach announced the Grand Prize and First Runner-up recipients. The Grand Prize of $40,000 in Hach equipment was awarded to Fairfield-Suisun, CA Sewer District, who will be able to implement efficient real-time monitoring that will allow them to optimize their Biological Nutrient Removal system. The City of Bryan, Texas, was the First Runner-up and received $20,000 in Hach equipment, which they feel will help them overcome aging laboratory equipment, funding shortfalls, evolving regulations, and increasing operating expenses.