Larry Durkin, PE, received the New England Water Works Association (NEWWA) 2024 State Leadership Award for Massachusetts during the organization’s December membership meeting. This award recognizes a Massachusetts-based association member for his or her contributions to the association and water works profession.
Durkin joined Woodard & Curran in August 2024 as an operator for the Water Treatment Plant in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He holds Massachusetts T4 Full and D4 Operator-in-Training Drinking Water licenses and is a licensed P.E. Durkin’s passion for the water industry began while volunteering with the Peace Corps in Lesotho, Africa in the late 1980s, serving as the Village Water Supply District Engineer. After returning to the states, he remained dedicated to protecting the environment and delivering safe, clean drinking water.
Durkin has long been an active member of NEWWA and the Massachusetts Water Works Association (MWWA). With MWWA, he served 15+ years on the program committee and has been the association’s volunteer photographer since 2005. As a member of NEWWA, he has served as a committee member, vice chair, and chair of the chapter’s Water for People Committee. He championed the first Kennedy Library Gala and raised more than $400,000 for Water for People, a global nonprofit that provides clean water and sanitation solutions in developing countries.
Durkin is humbled, yet honored, to receive the award. He said, “My passion for the water industry hasn’t wavered over the last four decades and I have been very fortunate in my career to see the value of highly dedicated and motivated people from all walks of life making a difference across the globe.”
NEWWA is an independent nonprofit membership organization dedicated to serving the region’s water works professionals and public interests. It is the oldest and most active water works association in the country.
