10/29/2026
West Des Moines Water Works enjoyed a lot of attention at last week's Iowa Section - American Water Works Association annual conference. In addition to GM Christina Murphy being installed as chair of the Iowa Section for 2026-27 and Lyle Hammes being honored as the George Warren Fuller Award, the WDMWW team won the water tower building competition for the second year in a row.
Armed with rudimentary tools, including straws and kindergarten scissors, the WDMWW team took championship honors with a 5-straw design that stood the test of time (more than an hour) When the judge poured water into the bowl, it easily held for the prescribed 30 seconds.
According to Daria Dilparic, anengineer infused with a competitive spirit comparable to Michael Jordan, "No team was ever able to build a tower the length of 5 straws high, and every time we tried it out in practice, we would get close but the stability was compromised. We made a game time decision to go for the tallest tower – 5 straw lengths high. Go big or go home."
Big they did, and they won. Congratulations team! Gary Eschelman, Vinny White, Josh Heggen, Joe Mohler, Daria Diparic, Steve Seivert, Lyle Hammes and Hank Sparrow.
