If you’ve ever been to WEFTEC, you know about Operations Challenge. The annual showcase of the top operations teams in the country is the Olympics of the industry, and it’s impossible to miss in WEFTEC’s exhibit hall. WEFTEC 2025 is just around the corner, and to mark the return of the world’s largest water quality exhibition to Chicago, we welcomed Steve Harrison and Jeff Sober to the podcast. Steve, a WEF senior manager, and Jeff, Director of Water Services at Garver, are both members of the Operations Challenge Community. Their passion for the event makes clear its singular value to the industry!
Topics Discussed
- Meet Steve Harrison | LinkedIn
- Steve’s Water Hero: Cordell Samuels, Past President of WEF and retired Plant Superintendent at the Region of Durham in Ontario.
- Meet Jeff Sober | LinkedIn
- Jeff’s Water Hero: His father, Gary Sober, who gave Jeff his first job in the water industry.
- What is WEFTEC and what does it represent for the water industry?
- What is the Operations Challenge and what does the competition include?
- History of the Operations Challenge
- How does a team get to WEFTEC?
- How the challenge affects professionals throughout the industry
- How the challenge supports the mission of WEF
- What else to see at WEFTEC this year (…like WaterOperator.org at Booth #5836!)
- Connect with the Water Environment Federation and WEFTEC
“You get a better workforce out of this. One that knows how to respond to all challenges and to be more resilient; and one that respects the positions and challenges of all the others as well.”
Jeff Sober
Go Further
You’re invited to discuss the episode in our LinkedIn Group. If you decide to share on Twitter, please use the hashtag #TapTalkPodcast. And, of course, make sure to subscribe in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.
About the Guests
Steve Harrison is Director of Operator Programs at the Water Environment Federation and is coordinator of Operations Challenge, WEFTEC’s award winning professional skills competition. He has contributed to many water sector workforce initiatives, including developing apprenticeship standards, coordinating regional workforce approaches, and launching the workforwater.org website. He holds a B.S. in Natural Resources Management from the University of Maryland, is a Board Certified Environmental Scientist, a Certified Mission Critical Professional, has a NASSCO Pipeline Assessment Certification Program credential, and is a member of the Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers.
Jeff Sober is the Director of Garver’s Water Services. He also sits on Garver’s Board of Directors. Jeff has 23 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry, focusing on large-scale facility master planning, wastewater treatment process design, grit removal science, and biosolids. He is a Past President of the Water Environment Association of Texas and currently serves as Past Chair of the WEF Operations Challenge Committee. He has been responsible for leading operations training and workforce development initiatives in Texas, in addition to leading one of the fastest-growing water and wastewater engineering services firms in the nation.
Jeff holds a B.S. and an M.Eng. in civil engineering, both from Texas A&M University. In 2025, he was named a WEF Fellow, one of the water industry’s most distinguished honors.