Underground Construction - November 2020 - 18

UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY
May 18-20, 2021â|âMusic City Centerâ|âNashville, TNâ|âUCTonline.com

George Kurz Named 2021 MVP
Annual Award Is Sponsored By UCTA, Underground Construction
The Most Valuable Professional of the underground infrastructure
industry will be honored at the annual Underground Construction
Technology (UCT) International Conference & Exhibition, in
Nashville, Tenn, on May 18, 2021. The award, co-sponsored by
the Underground Construction Technology Association and
Underground Construction magazine, will be presented to George
Kurz, P.E., DEE.
Kurz, of Nashville, Tenn., has 43 years of experience in state
and local government, sewer service contracting and consulting
engineering. For 30 years, he has focused on the development
of a strategic approach for eliminating infiltration and inflow
in municipal sewer systems and standardizing methods for
measuring effectiveness of rehabilitation using flow monitoring.
A strong believer in industry education, he is a frequent
presenter in the educational program at UCT and has also
presented pre-show workshops on sewer rehabilitation strategies.
All his presentations are renowned for comprehensive, in-depth
and unique data delivered in a fun and informative manner.
Robert A. Carpenter, editor-in-chief of Underground Construction
magazine, recently made the announcement on behalf of the
UCTA and the magazine.

" I've had the pleasure to work with George for many years.
He truly reflects the type of individual integrity and career
accomplishments that epitomize the MVP award, " Carpenter
said. " Throughout his career, George has been relentless in the
pursuit of a better way to evaluate sewer systems and effectively
battle I&I. His work in these areas is legendary. "

RehabZone
Kurz got involved in the RehabZone program at UCT during
its early years and still participates as an industry expert
answering questions, explaining technology and providing
general information to the audience. It is not unusual to find
Kurz in the RehabZone with a crowd gathered around him
as he shares technical information, anecdotal stories and
relevant research information.
Kurz served in the military and is very active in his church.
In fact, every year he ventures into Ecuador on a church
mission to lend his engineering expertise, along with
hands-on work, to help build sewer and water infrastructure
for struggling communities. He has initiated and administered
development projects for the Episcopal Diocese of Litoral
in Guayaquil, Ecuador since 1996.
Kurz was born in New Jersey in 1948. He enlisted in the Army
in 1969 and served 19 months in Vietnam as an Intelligence
Sergeant. After his return, he was stationed at the Pentagon in
the Army Operations Center under the Army Chief of Staff for
Intelligence.
Following active duty, he completed a B.S. in Civil Engineering
(Environmental) at Tennessee Technological University. While
in graduate school, he joined the WPCF (now WEF) in 1974 and
is now a Life Member.

Career

George Kurz, 2021 MVP

18

NOVEMBER 2020 | UCONonline.com

Kurz worked for the Tennessee Division of Water Quality
Control from 1976 to 1978, reviewing collection system plans,
I/I studies and SSES reports. From 1978 to 1990, he was
Sewer System Engineer for the Interceptor Sewer System in
Chattanooga, Tenn. His responsibilities progressed to the point
where he managed 34 people in the sewer maintenance and
industrial wastes divisions and a combined annual budget of
$2.25 million.
He also initiated the I/I monitoring and sewer rehabilitation
programs, and designed the first flow monitoring network of 21
permanent meters. He oversaw procurement of design for the
first CSO control project at Ross's Landing, and designed 1.5
miles of 15-, 24- and 54-inch sewer trunk lining.
Beginning in 1991, he worked for CTA as part of the Nashville
Overflow Abatement Program (OAP) as a project manager and
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Underground Construction - November 2020

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