For the 10th year in a row, GUC’s Water Treatment Plant (WTP) received the prestigious North Carolina Area Wide Optimization Award (AWOP), making this the first time it has earned the NC Division of Water Resources’ “Gold Star” designation.
The Gold Star designation is reserved for surpassing federal and state drinking water standards for 10 or more consecutive years. Of the 157 surface water treatment plants in the state, Greenville Utilities is one of just 20 facilities honored for this accomplishment.
During the February GUC Board of Commissioners meeting, Clif Whitfield, Professional Geologist Assistant Regional Engineer, Washington Regional Public Water Supply Section, presented the award to the Water Treatment Plant staff.
“To do this, 10 years in a row is very impressive,” Whitfield said. “You can have the premier water treatment plant in the northern hemisphere but produce terrible water. These people [WTP staff] are your best asset. They have bought into this program. They work well together. They care about what they are doing.”
The award is a state effort to enhance the performance of existing surface water treatment facilities. In 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed regulations to reduce the risk of biological contamination. They then partnered with states to form AWOP. This program introduced more stringent water quality goals and helps water systems meet those goals. North Carolina has participated in AWOP since 2000 and is one of 31 states involved in the program.
“This 10-year achievement marks a big goal that our staff has worked hard on and is one of many examples of WTP employees taking pride in their jobs to provide our customers with quality drinking water,” said WTP Facility Manager Julius Patrick. “Meeting AWOP goals is a joint effort between operations, maintenance, and lab staff that couldn’t happen without everyone doing an outstanding job every day.”