The Montana Section of American Water Works Association (MSAWWA) has named Carrie Gardner the recipient of the esteemed George Warren Fuller Award in 2023. George Warren Fuller was a prominent civil engineer who contributed greatly to public health and sanitation practices during the late 19th and 20th centuries. The MSAWWA award is presented annually to an outstanding individual who has made significant contributions to the water industry.
The George Warren Fuller Award is a testament to Carrie’s exceptional contributions to civil engineering and the water industry in Montana. After graduating from Gonzaga University in 2009 with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering, Carrie came to work for Great West Engineering in Helena as a project engineer. She works in the Helena Municipal group with a focus on helping Montana communities with their water and wastewater needs. Carrie has quickly risen to be a leading project manager at Great West and became an Associate Principal in 2022. She has been involved in more than 50 water and wastewater projects including everything from collection and distribution to pump stations, storage tanks, water supply, water and wastewater treatment.
Carrie Gardner with Past Fuller Award Winners
While Carrie serves as the project manager and on-call engineer for many communities, two notable projects in her career so far include the Harlem Water Treatment and Thompson Falls Wastewater Improvements projects. For Harlem, Carrie completed a Preliminary Engineering Report, secured $5.4 million in grant funds for the community, and is currently designing a new water treatment plant to address issues with disinfection byproducts for the City. In Thompson Falls, the wastewater project is a multi-phase, multi-year project that expands the City’s wastewater system to connect the portion of the community served by onsite septic systems to the public wastewater system. The Phase 1 project is expected to be completed in 2023 and has a project cost of $15.1 million. There are four phases estimated to cost $30 million. Carrie has been integral in helping the community plan and fund the project, assisting them in securing more than $10 million in grant funds for Phase 1 alone.
“I have had so many great working experiences with Carrie! She is hardworking, efficient, explains things very well, caring, personable and fun! We have been working together for almost five years now and have not had one problem. If something comes up she is right on it! This project has been hard and time consuming but with Carrie’s help it has made dealing with the project easier for everyone involved!
I am looking forward for the next project and working with her for a few more years! We feel lucky that she was chosen to be our project engineer!”
Carrie on Engineers Without Borders Trip to Africa to Assist Local Residents with Water Filtration
Carrie’s impact extends far beyond her professional achievements. She is also a leader in organizations outside of Great West. She is the Past Chair for MSAWWA and the current National Director for the organization. She also chairs the Water for People committee and has served as a Starbase 2.0 mentor – a program designed to give students with an increased interest in STEM an opportunity to participate in deeper, long-term projects in an afterschool setting. While in college, Carrie participated in Engineers Without Borders, travelling to Africa to help with a water filtration project. Carrie’s colleagues attest to her abilities as a skilled engineer, but also admire her genuine dedication to the people and the communities she helps. Her exceptional contributions have undoubtedly made a profound and lasting impact on the water industry. Congratulations Carrie on winning the George Warren Fuller Award, well deserved!
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