Tussahaw Plant Judged Best in Georgia
The Georgia Section of the American Water Works Association (GAWWA) saved the best water industry awards for last when announcing the Plant of the Year Awards at the conclusion of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) Spring Conference. After receiving four industry awards previously, the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) has won the Plant of the Year Award for its Tussahaw Water Plant.
The HCWA won the Plant of the Year Award in the category of surface water plants with a capacity of 15 to 25 million gallons per day (MGD). The current production capacity of the award-winning HCWA Tussahaw Plant is 16.1 MGD, with infrastructure in place to double that production capacity in the future, when needed.
“Once again, the Henry County Water Authority secured the Plant of the Year Award, this time for the outstanding Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant,” says Pam Burnett, GAWP Executive Director.
Burnett notes that this award recognizes the plant that scores the highest following an intense and comprehensive inspection of all competing treatment plants in Georgia by judges who are fellow water professionals. As a result, the process of vying for the Plant of the Year Award allows water utilities throughout the state to exchange ideas and information to help their respective water facilities serve Georgia citizens better.
“Every aspect of plant operation and management is inspected and scored from top to bottom, as compared to other plants across the state of similar size,” adds Burnett. “The Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant has once again shown to be exceptional in not only how well it is operated and managed, but also in the excellent quality of the water produced. Congratulations to Henry County Water Authority, as this award is well deserved.”
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The Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant is a three-time recipient of the GAWWA Plant of the Year Award, having won previously in 2016 and 2011. In addition, the Tussahaw Plant also received the GAWP Platinum Award this Spring for 14 consecutive years of 100 percent permit compliance. That means the Tussahaw Plant has not had a permit violation since it came online in 2007.
The HCWA owns and operates two Water Production Facilities within its system. In addition to the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant, the Authority’s Towaliga Water Treatment Plant is a previous Plant of the Year Award winner as well, bringing home this honor in 2015 and most recently in 2019. Together, these two facilities have a combined rated treatment capacity of more than 40 MGD to serve the customers of the HCWA.
The GAWWA Water Treatment Plant of the Year Award is presented annually, recognizing municipal water treatment facilities that have been operated in an outstanding manner, with categories based on facility size. This award is given to the best managed, best operated facilities in the state of Georgia. To win this award, not only is the score compiled and considered by water industry j
udges, but all aspects of the facility are evaluated – such as safety, maintenance operations, documentation, lab operations and industrial monitoring.
“I am extremely proud of all of our employees who manage and operate our treatment facilities, especially the staff at the Tussahaw Plant responsible for this very special industry award,” says Lindy Farmer, HCWA General Manager. “I think this is the kind of award that provides tangible evidence of how tremendously dedicated and skilled our water professionals are. We hold ourselves to a higher standard because we have the public’s health and welfare in our hands, so we want to provide the very best quality of services possible.”
Captions for photos:
Top Photo: HCWA General Manager Lindy Farmer (far right) joins the staff of the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant to celebrate the GAWWA Plant of the Year Award.
Middle Photo: Tussahaw Plant Manager Barry Brand (far left) leads a tour of the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant.
Bottom Photo: The exterior of the Tussahaw Water Plant, which was selected as the GAWWA Plant of the Year in Georgia.
Media contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.
P: 770-757-1681
E: chris@jwapr.com OR john.wood@gcsu.edu