HCWA Wraps Up 2022 with Water & Wastewater System Awards
During the Fall Conference, Laboratory Symposium & Expo of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) in Jekyll Island, the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) celebrated the end of the program year with three coveted industry awards.
The HCWA won the GAWP Water Distribution System Platinum Award and Collection System Platinum Award, as well as the Laboratory QA/QC (quality assurance-quality control) Award for its Walnut Creek Water Reclamation Central Laboratory.
The utility’s water and sewer systems are reviewed annually by industry judges made up of fellow water professionals, to provide a valuable exchange of information and ideas among leaders of water utilities across Georgia, in addition to grading systems for these awards of excellence.
The HCWA won the Collection System Platinum Award for achieving a quantitative score of 95% or higher, for at least five consecutive years, on the annual review of its sewer system. The HCWA has reached this milestone for 11 consecutive years.
In addition, the HCWA received the GAWP Water Distribution System Platinum Award for scoring 95% or higher on the annual review of its water system for at least five consecutive years, with this most recent award marking seven straight years the Authority has reached this highest level of achievement.
GAWP Collection System Excellence Awards recognize those utilities in Georgia that strive to continually improve their systems through proper management, maintenance, and operations. The criteria for the award include preventative maintenance, system evaluation, rehabilitation programs, and training, among many other checklist items.
The GAWP Water Distribution System Excellence Award is given to those utilities who “operate in an outstanding manner.” This award recognizes water utility excellence in management, operations, and maintenance of public water production and distribution systems. The Water Distribution System Platinum Award also prepares the HCWA for its Georgia EPD Sanitary Survey, which is another comprehensive review of the HCWA water distribution system administered by Georgia EPD regulatory officials every three years.
GAWP officials note that these Platinum Awards provide tangible evidence for HCWA customers that the Authority’s water and sewer systems operate according to the highest standards for quality and safety in the industry.
The goal of the GAWP system review process to determine statewide awards is to create incentives for utilities to strive to improve their operations. In addition, the water professionals who serve as volunteer judges can collaborate with HCWA employees to learn from their successes and glean valuable information to improve operations at their respective utilities located all over the state.
The Laboratory QA/QC Awards encourage the professional advancement of laboratories within Georgia. The process provides an avenue for peers within the water profession to exchange ideas, circulate technical expertise, and offer productive feedback on the operation of an excellent laboratory. In doing so, the industry recognizes laboratories that exhibit outstanding quality assurance programs.
“I’m so honored to have dedicated, experienced staff to keep our Water Authority at the top of the industry, time and time again,” says Tony Carnell, HCWA General Manager. “The Platinum Awards and Laboratory Award are not easy accomplishments. The combined experience and team effort among our employees have proven to be Platinum worthy, and I congratulate the members of our staff who were a part of this great accomplishment.”
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Media Contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.
P: 770-757-1681
E: chris@jwapr.com or john.wood@gcsu.edu
Caption for photo:
The HCWA staff receives the utility’s 2022 GAWP Water Distribution System and Collection System Platinum Awards, as well as the GAWP Laboratory QA/QC Award, to wrap up the awards program year during the GAWP Fall Conference. Pictured (left to right): General Manager Tony Carnell, Tara Brown, Scott Sage, Al Gardner, Cliff Sims, Cliff Hardin, and Ray Sanders.