In the many twists and turns of Winnipeg's waterworks system, there exist gadgets to help avoid basement floods, and others that make sure the debris that was tossed down your street sewer does not stop rainwater from flowing through the pipes. In fact, there are over 90 different types of products replicated throughout the miles of the waterworks system, and Jeff Hawley knows them all!

In his six years with the Product Approvals and Standards section of the City's Water and Wastewater Department, the 35 year old has also figured out which ones don't work as well as they should, and which ones could be better designed to save the city money.

Like trophies for jobs well done, Jeff's office shelves are filled with waterworks products that he has either approved, or whose new design he helped perfect. Next to them sit other manufacturers' products in the process of being approved or redesigned. The phone is often ringing. It could be a work crew leader on the line, needing a question answered about a particular valve, or the president of a company, lobbying Jeff to eventually install their fitting or pipe in Winnipeg's underground.