2023 Gimmicks & Gadgets Winners:

The award: Cash prizes of $800 (first place), $400 (second place), and $300 (third place), plus commemorative plaques to each of the three winners.

Frequency of the award: Annually.

Eligibility for the award: Anyone who submits an acceptable entry to Opflow.

Entry requirements: An entry should be a novel and relatively simple mechanical device or procedure designed to provide a more efficient, safer, and/or simplified way to perform routine tasks or functions in the maintenance, operation, or construction of a water utility system. Commercially available products are not eligible.

Nomination procedure: Submit your entry through the Gimmicks & Gadgets contest entry form, and submit the required graphics using the link provided in the form. For additional details, visit the contest page. Each entry will be screened by AWWA staff engineers and, if not found dangerous or otherwise unacceptable, will be approved for entry into the annual competition and for possible publication. Entrants will be notified concerning the status of their entry. Entries approved by the staff engineers may or may not be published in Opflow, but they will be judged. A signed release will be required before publication.

Nomination or submission deadline: May 31st of each contest year

Award committee membership: Three volunteer representatives from the Distribution & Plant Operations Division who serve on the ad hoc Gimmicks & Gadgets Committee.

Method of selecting award recipient: The Distribution & Plant Operations Division staff secretary will forward pre-approved entries to the award judges. The judges will provide their list of winners to the staff secretary by June 28th.

Presentation of the award: The Opflow editor will arrange for the cash awards and plaques to be presented at the AWWA Water Infrastructure Conference.

Gimmicks & Gadgets entries are judged on the basis of originality, simplicity, use, and application to the water industry. A successful entry will be a novel and relatively simple mechanical device or procedure. It will be designed to provide a more efficient, safe, or simplified way to perform a routine task or function in the maintenance, operation, or construction of a water utility system.

All entries must be submitted by a current AWWA member or member utility.

If the thought of putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard scares you more than confronting a hungry bear in a dark forest at midnight, then this section is for you. Relax, you'll be glad to know that the first rule of writing a "Gimmicks and Gadgets" entry is that it doesn't have to be perfect. Opflow editors will repurpose winning entries for publication.

Getting started
The idea for the device or procedure is really the most important part of the story. Everything else (the details of how to construct and implement, and so forth) can usually be set down in a simple standard format.

If you have ever solved a problem for your utility by inventing some sort of tool or new method for getting a job done more quickly, better, or for less cost to the utility, then you have created a gimmick or gadget. That was the hard part of the process. The next step is to put the idea on paper to share with your peers in the water industry—and possibly win a cash prize!

Use this outline to help you get organized and tell your story.

As you'll see on the previously mentioned entry form, begin with your name, title or position, affiliation or organization, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail. If you’re submitting the idea for another person, please provide the name of the inventor.

1. Next, give the gadget or procedure a name (for example, the lid-lifter, meter box lock-out and so forth); any title that briefly describes what the gadget or procedure does will do. If it's not easy to describe the idea in a couple of words, then describe it as well as you can in a sentence.
2. Describe why the gimmick or gadget was needed. Include the problems that were experienced by the utility before the device was used or the procedure was implemented.
3. List the equipment and supplies needed to make the gadget. This list should include the exact dimensions, sizes and quantities that are needed to build the device. If possible, include a total price of the supplies and the total amount of time it takes to build the device.
4. The easiest way to explain how to build the device is to use a simple step-by-step approach. Begin with the first step you took to construct it. Be careful not to skip any steps. To reproduce the invention in their own workplace, readers need to know all the construction details.
5. Finish by describing what was achieved by using the device. How much money and time has the device saved? List any other benefits that have resulted from its use, such as improved operator skills or record keeping, safer working conditions, increased job pride or streamlined office procedures.

Graphics and videos
Provide drawings or photos. The old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" still holds true. An illustration helps the reader to understand the idea in a concrete way. Illustrations or photos must be submitted digitally in .tif or .jpg format. Digital images must be at least 300 dpi (high resolution).

Your entry will be screened by AWWA staff engineers and, if not dangerous or otherwise unacceptable, will progress to the next level of judging. All entrants will be notified about the status of their entries. Entrants progressing to the next level will also be asked to sign and return an official entry form and release. Subsequent judging is performed by three trustees from the Distribution & Plant Operations Division who volunteer to serve on the ad hoc Gimmicks and Gadgets Committee.

Winners are notified in July, and their entries are featured in the September issue of Opflow. Winning entries earn $800 for first place, $400 for second place, and $300 for third place. In addition, winners are honored at AWWA's annual Water Infrastructure Conference in September. Honorable Mention-winning entries may or may not be published in Opflow. A signed release is required for all entries that are published.