Alumnus receives Honorary Life Membership from APEGM
Arnold Permut, P.Eng., (B.Sc. C.E./74, M.Sc. Env.Eng./76) recently received Honorary Life Membership from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of Manitoba in recognition of his dedicated service to the engineering profession and prolonged voluntary service to APEGM.
After graduation, Mr. Permut worked for an engineering consulting firm from 1976-1978. During this period he was involved in several environmental impact studies related to energy projects in the arctic. He has been working with the City of Winnipeg Water and Waste Department since 1978 in a variety of engineering related design and planning positions. He was Manager of the Laboratory Services Division from 1987 to 2004. Part of the responsibilities as Lab Manager included monitoring the safety of Winnipeg’s drinking water. During this period he was also responsible for Industrial and Hazardous Waste Control with emphasis on enforcement of sewer bylaw provisions.
Mr. Permut has been working as Wastewater Systems Planning Engineer with the Water and Waste Engineering Division since 2004. In this capacity he has been involved with projects such as: Upgrading and Expansion of the City’s South End Water Pollution Control Centre, the Upgrading and Expansion Master Plan for the North End Water Pollution Control Centre, and a Master Plan for the treatment, handling, and disposal of bio-solids. A common element of these projects is the reduction of phosphorous and nitrogen release into the environment. He also coordinated the recent revision the City’s Sewer By-Law which included extensive public consultation prior to approval. Ongoing activities include the establishment of a long term program to prevent future major process upsets at Winnipeg’s wastewater treatment facilities such as occurred in the fall of 2011. He is part of the team to develop a proactive plan for rapid recovery should another process upset occur. Arnold takes great pleasure in the mentoring of young engineers so they can expand their horizons and thereby become integral to the department’s succession planning process.
Arnold has served many years on various APEGM committees. He served on APEGM Council for eight years and was APEGM
President in 2004. He has been chair of the Board of APEGM Foundation Inc since 2005. Mr Permut is a “Fellow of Engineers Canada”. He is also a member of the American Waterworks Association, the Water Environment Federation, and the Western Canada Water and Wastewater Association.