Awards





Over the years, Wright Water Engineers, Inc., and our staff have been the proud recipients of an array of awards and honors.

Ethics Awards for our Company

Wright Water Engineers won the American Business Ethics Award for firm commitment to ethical practices in everyday operations and philosophies, and the integrity of our responses to crises and challenges.  The award was sponsored by the Society of Financial Services Professionals.

Wright Water Engineers received the Colorado Ethics in Business Award for professional business practices, fairplay and public service.  WWE President Wayne Lorenz, CEO Jonathan E. Jones, and CFO Kenneth R. Wright are deeply honored to lead the first consulting engineering company to  receive this award.

Awards for Our Projects and People

The Smoky Hill River Renewal Master Plan, on which WWE served as hydrologic engineers, was recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Colorado Chapter with the Honor Award for professional achievement in the chapter’s 2011 Professional Design Awards.

Jane Clary of WWE’s Denver office was nominated as an “Outstanding Woman in Engineering” by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Colorado in February 2012.

In January, 2012, the Urban Storm Drainage Criteria Manual, Volume 3, won an award from the Colorado Chapter of the American Public Works Association in the Environmental Design category. WWE helped  the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District to develop this manual.

ACEC 2011 Fall ConferenceIn October 2011, Emily Becker was named a Young Professional of the Year by the American Council of Engineering Companies.

In October 2011, Ken and Ruth Wright were given the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club for their paleohydrological investigations.

Ken and Ruth Wright were awarded a joint Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in May 2011.

Andrew Earles was named one of the “Top 20 Under 40″ by Engineering News-Record (Mountain States) in February 2011.

In February 2011, Emily Becker and Shannon Tillack were named two of Colorado’s “New Faces in Engineering” by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado.

The Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria  awarded Ken Wright with a Doctor Honoris Causa Degree in 2009.

The Green Industries of Colorado (GreenCO) named Jane Clary its 2008 Person of the Year.

In August 2008, the Water Section of the Colorado Bar Association inducted two of our long-time staff members, Ken Wright and Bill Lorah, into the Ancient and Honorable Order of the Water Buffalo.

Ken and Ruth Wright received the 2008 President’s Award for supporting water-related education in Colorado from the Colorado Foundation for Water Education.

The “Friend of the District” award was given to Ken Wright by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) in March, 2008.

In 2007, Bertolt Brecht College of Lima, Peru awarded Ken and Ruth Wright Honorary Diplomas.

WWE and Design Studios West were given the 2007 Land Stewardship Award and the 2007 President’s Award of Excellence in Design by the Colorado Chapter of The American Society of Landscape Architects on October 19. The awards were for our work on the now-completed Estes Park Riverwalk.

On October 10, 2007 Ken and Ruth Wright received the Order of Merit for Distinguished Services from Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez.

Also in October 2007,  Ken Wright received an Honorary Professor award from the Ricardo Palma University in Lima, Peru.

Engineer Ian Paton received top award for the scientific paper he presented at a meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The award is for Best Paper on Nuclear Decontamination, Decommissioning, and Reutilization.

Kenneth R. Wright was given Honorary Membership by the American Society of Civil Engineers in October, 2006.  He is one of only 555 Honorary Members inducted since 1853.

Patricia Flood was awarded by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado as their 2006 Outstanding Woman in Engineering on February 28.

The urban drainage study WWE performed for the City of Lincoln, Nebraska won the 2006 Engineering Excellence Honor Award from the American Consulting Engineers Council of Nebraska.  We performed this study as a sub-consultant to JEO Consulting Group, along with Black & Veatch and the Heartland Center for Leadership Development.

The Broadmoor Events Center in Colorado Springs, for which WWE’s Dave Jubenville managed the construction dewatering, was given the Gold Hard Hat Award for an “Outstanding Retail/Commercial Project” in 2005.

In 2005, Kenneth Wright was one of three people given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.  The award honors “life-long and eminent contribution to the environmental and water resources engineering disciplines through practice, research, and public service.”

In September 2004, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment inducted the Florida Water Conservancy District into its Hall of Fame for nonpoint source projects. The award was for design and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce stormwater runoff from areas burned during the Missionary Ridge fire in 2002.

In 2004, Kenneth Wright was given the Orley Phillips Award for outstanding contributions to the field of engineering by the American Council of Consulting Engineering Companies of Colorado.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) honored Jon Jones with its 2003 ASCE State-of-the-Art of Civil Engineering Award. Eric Strecker of GeoSyntec Consultants and Ben Urbonas of the Denver Urban Drainage and Flood Control District were co-awardees for the services that created the International Stormwater Best Management Practices Database.

In 2003, our client, The Everist Materials Aggregate Operation in Summit County, won the Jack Starner Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in mined land reclamation. The award is sponsored by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board to honor outstanding reclamation of aggregate/construction materials operations and exceptional efforts in preserving and/or enhancing the environment.

In 2002, Kenneth R. Wright was made an Honorary Professor of Engineering by Peru’s National University of Engineering for his contributions to cultural patrimony at Machu Picchu.

Also in 2002, Kenneth Wright was given the George Washington Award by the American Council of Consulting Engineering Companies of Colorado.

The Peruvian Center for Andean Studies made us an honorary member for our Contribution to Archaeological Studies at Machu Picchu in 2002.

In 2001, Kenneth R. Wright was given the Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work at Machu Picchu.

In 2001, Kenneth R. Wright received an Award of Recognition from the Municipal District of Machu Picchu for engineering research at Machu Picchu.

In 2000, Wright Water Engineers received an Outstanding Graphics Presentation Award From the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado for a display depicting our Pine Lake Restoration project.

In 1997, WWE received the Stephen H. Hart Award for Preservation of Cultural Heritage from the Colorado Historical Society.  This award was related to our historical research at Mesa Verde.

In 1996 WWE was awarded an Environmental Excellence Award from the International Erosion Control Association for our Lena Gulch Stabilization and Rechannelization project.

In 1970, the Urban Storm Drainage Manual for the Denver Regional Council of Governments was prepared and published by Wright Water Engineers.  It won top honor in the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado’s Engineering Excellence Awards program.  The Manual has served as a model for many other communities for nearly four decades.