Goshen Wastewater Superintendent Jim Kerezman named 2026 Operator of the Year
GOSHEN, Ind. — Four decades of guiding Goshen’s wastewater operations have earned Jim Kerezman statewide recognition from his peers.
The Indiana Water Environment Association named Kerezman its 2026 Class III WRRF Operator of the Year. Goshen’s Wastewater Superintendent has served the City since 1986.
The award recognizes his leadership, technical expertise and contributions to wastewater treatment during a career spanning nearly 50 years.
2026 Operator of the Year reflects decades of wastewater service
Kerezman began his wastewater career in 1977 at the South Haven Water Works near Valparaiso. He joined Goshen as an operator in April 1986 and became assistant plant manager in 1989.
Two years later, he helped oversee a major transformation of Goshen’s wastewater treatment system. The project replaced a 1.5-million-gallon-per-day trickling filter plant with a 3.5-million-gallon-per-day activated sludge facility.
He earned his Class IV wastewater license in 1995 and became Wastewater Superintendent. Major expansions followed in 1997 and 2008 as Goshen and its industrial base continued to grow.
Along the way, Kerezman helped find ways to improve water quality without simply adding new infrastructure or treatment chemicals. One solution converted existing infrastructure to support biological phosphorus removal.
The approach avoided $1 million or more in capital construction while reducing chemical use, maintenance and energy costs.
More recent improvements have continued that emphasis on efficiency. In 2024, Kerezman led upgrades to the facility’s digester air piping and aeration system to reduce electricity use.
“Jim is a true credit to the wastewater profession,” Public Works & Utilities Director Dustin Sailor wrote in recommending him for the award. “His quiet competence, dedication, and professionalism ensure that the community rarely has cause for concern.”
Leadership extends beyond the treatment plant
Today, Kerezman oversees operations and maintenance of Goshen’s Wastewater Utility and Wet Weather Detention Facility. He leads a nine-member team responsible for maintaining treatment operations and water quality.
That work extends to the City’s composting operation, which combines biosolids with food waste, leaves and wood chips. The process creates a usable product that also generates revenue for the City.
Education has become another part of his work. Kerezman regularly welcomes visitors to the facility, from elementary students to graduate-level classes and skilled-trades workers.
Those tours give visitors a closer look at a critical City service that largely operates outside public view. Sailor credited Kerezman with making the complex treatment process understandable to people of different ages and backgrounds.
His influence also reaches beyond Goshen. He has represented Indiana at national wastewater operator competitions and worked with professional organizations to train others in the field.
Kerezman holds five Indiana certifications in wastewater treatment, collection systems, industrial treatment, water treatment and water distribution. He previously received IWEA’s Pretreatment Award in 2021.
Nearly 50 years after entering the profession, Kerezman’s colleagues say his technical accomplishments tell only part of the story.
“Jim is someone who takes tremendous pride in his work and in the people he serves,” Sailor wrote. “His calm demeanor, humility and professionalism have earned the respect of everyone who has had the privilege of working with him. Jim Kerezman is truly an unsung community hero.”