ABPA Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by American Backflow Prevention Association

The ABPA Harrington-Arthur Memorial Essay Competition was established in 2000 to reward students who seek to increase their knowledge and understanding of how cross connection control and backflow prevention help ensure safe drinking water. Backflow prevention is designed to prevent dangerous – and sometimes even fatal – bacteria, chemicals and other harmful agents from entering local water supply systems. Backflow prevention programs are essential to ensure water that reaches your home, school or place of business is as safe and pure as it was when it left the water treatment plant.

The ABPA's focus is to have a public educated in the value and need for active local backflow prevention programs. Our goal is safe drinking water through cross connection control. The organization works to build a greater public awareness of backflow prevention as one component of safe drinking water.

The essay topic for the 2021-2022 school year is:

"How can a water purveyor protect their potable water distribution system from pollution and/or contamination due to unprotected cross-connections and backflow? Discuss methods and procedures a water purveyor in your area has implemented to protect their distribution system from these hazards to ensure safe drinking water is supplied to all their end-users."

This scholarship competition is open to any high school student (age 13 to 18 as of December 31, 2021) residing legally in the United States or Canada. Applicants may currently attend a public, private, or parochial school, or be home-schooled. Applicants are not required to be college-bound. Scholarship money can be used for any type of advanced education. Previous winners and the immediate families of ABPA officers and directors are not eligible to participate. Further, the immediate relatives of directors and staff of Federal Student Aid, Semester at Sea or the National Student Leadership Conference are not eligible to participate.

There will be one $1,500 scholarship presented in the winner's name to a recognized state-sponsored, tax deferred 529 Investment National College Savings Program, to the winner's established 529 Investment Educational IRA (or the Canadian equivalent) or to an accredited school in the winner's name. The scholarship is not transferable.