John Altenburg has been at the Portage la Prairie Water Pollution Control Facility for 41 years and says he still loves what he does.

The Operation Supervisor recently received the George Balacko Operator of the Year Award from the Manitoba Water and Wastewater Association.

"I started with the city as a lawn care keeper," says Altenburg. "With the operators, at the time, I followed them around to see what the job entailed. When one of them left, I took the job."

Altenburg says he is from Dauphin originally, but has very much enjoyed his time in the City of Possibilities. He wanted to thank the city's Director of Utility, Karly Friesen, as well as all of his teammates.

"It's nice to get recognized for what a person does, but the thing is, it's not only me, it's the team I work with. One person can't do it themselves, it has to be a team that does it," says Altenburg. "The management and the operators that I work with are great to work with, and we do what we need to do to keep things going."