11 Sep OWASA Receives National Recognition for Commitment to High-Quality Drinking Water
OWASA received three awards in June from the Partnership for Safe Water: 10-Year Excellence in Water Treatment; Five-Year Presidents Award for Distribution System Operations; and 10-Year Directors Award for Distribution System Operations for 2022. These awards were presented to OWASA at AWWA’s ACE 23 Conference in Toronto, CA.
OWASA is a member of the Partnership for Safe Water (Partnership), led by six organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The goals of the partnership programs are to improve the quality of water delivered to customers by optimizing water treatment and distribution operations and improving performance above and beyond regulatory levels.
OWASA successfully optimized drinking water treatment processes to achieve higher standards than mandated by the state and the EPA. The 10-year Excellence in Water Treatment award celebrates OWASA’s continued commitment and success in meeting these goals for ten consecutive years.
The Five-Year Presidents and 10-Year Directors awards for Distribution System Operations are given to systems that successfully completed self-assessment and continuous improvement planning while demonstrating and maintaining outstanding performance and commitment to the community.
OWASA is passionate about the Partnership and the positive impacts it has had on our operational performance, our organization’s culture, and providing excellent service to our community.
Mary Darr, OWASA’s General Manager of Operations, sees these awards as a positive indicator of OWASA’s success. “Public health, our customers’ satisfaction with their service and confidence in us as their water and sewer utility are always our first priorities,” she said. “Participating in the Partnership for Safe Water and earning these awards demonstrate to our community that we are going the extra mile and performing well amongst our peers.”
OWASA has participated in the overall Partnership program since 2002. In addition to these water treatment and distribution system awards, OWASA’s Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant received the Partnership for Clean Water Directors Award in Wastewater Treatment in 2021.