Brown and Caldwell’s Houston Flippin honored with W. Wesley Eckenfelder Water Quality Lifetime Achievement Award

Industrial water expert’s 40 years of service recognized by the Water Environment Federation

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Brown and Caldwell proudly announce the Water Environment Federation (WEF) has awarded vice president and industrial water expert Houston Flippin the prestigious W. Wesley Eckenfelder Industrial Water Quality Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award recognizes and honors an individual who has made substantial and measurable engineering, scientific, and/or operations contributions to managing or treating industrial wastes to improve water quality. A renowned pioneer of industrial wastewater management, WEF created the award in 2007 to honor the late W. Wesley Eckenfelder Jr.

Eckenfelder was a prolific writer, influencing countless engineers through his many textbooks, hundreds of journal articles, and courses. One such engineer is Flippin, who achieved a master’s degree in environmental and water resource engineering and a bachelor’s in civil and environmental engineering from Vanderbilt University under the tutelage of Eckenfelder.

The impact Eckenfelder has had on Flippin is profound. After serving as a research assistant to Eckenfelder at Vanderbilt in 1983, Flippin has dedicated his career to enhancing the environment through the design, construction, and optimization of industrial water and wastewater treatment facilities. Since joining Brown and Caldwell in 1984, he has evaluated and developed process design and operating guidelines for hundreds of treatment facilities encompassing food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical and nutrition, refinery and renewable fuels, mining, and many more industries. His experience and technical acumen have been pivotal in helping industrial clients achieve water treatment cost savings while maintaining effluent and emissions compliance.

Project highlights include the Bush Brothers & Company’s (Bush’s® Best Baked Beans) award-winning Process Water Reclamation Facility. As technical lead, Flippin directed the process design of the 2.1 million gallons per day facility that treats production process water to be used for utility water makeup or irrigation of adjacent pasturelands on which cattle are raised by Bush Brothers & Company-owned agriculture.

Furthermore, Flippin has continued Eckenfelder’s legacy by mentoring aspiring engineers and lending his expertise to improve water quality through engineering and scientific advancements in treating industrial waters. He regularly leads educational workshops and authors thought leadership articles focused on bringing new information and pioneering solutions to market.

Brown and Caldwell CEO Rich D’Amato commented on the esteemed recognition:

“I am thrilled that WEF has awarded Houston’s decades of dedication and contributions to the field of industrial water treatment. Spanning four decades, he has continuously solved various highly technical, complex industrial water challenges to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients and communities. His selfless approach to innovation and mentoring has tremendously impacted the industry and our people. All at Brown and Caldwell are immensely proud of Houston for this well-earned accolade.”

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Flippin is a licensed professional engineer in 16 states and a board-certified environmental engineer.

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About Brown and Caldwell

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Brown and Caldwell is a full-service environmental engineering and construction services firm with 52 offices and over 1,900 professionals across North America and the Pacific. For more than 75 years, our creative solutions have helped municipalities, private industry, and government agencies successfully overcome their most challenging water and environmental obstacles. As an employee-owned company, Brown and Caldwell is passionate about exceeding our clients’ expectations and making a difference for our employees, our communities, and our environment. For more information, visit www.brownandcaldwell.com