The Macon Water Authority

790 Second Street • Macon, GA 31202-0108 • (478) 464-5600

Open House celebrates national Drinking Water Week

June 13, 2014 by Chris Wood, Ph.D.

The Macon Water Authority celebrated national Drinking Water Week during the first week in May with an Open House at the Frank C. Amerson, Jr. Water Treatment Plant. Drinking Water Week is recognized annually by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) as a unique opportunity for both water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.

Approximately 120 guests attended the Amerson Plant Open House this year – a group that outnumbered those in attendance last year. Participants included home-schooled students, church groups, Chamber of Commerce members, MWA Board Members and candidates, staff from the Macon-Bibb Convention & Visitors Bureau, and local media.

Tours that ran every 30 minutes covered the entire campus of the plant and Javors Lucas Lake – the Authority’s drinking water reservoir. Guests took a ride around the grounds to see facilities such as the intake at the Ocmulgee River, where water is pumped into Javors Lucas Lake, in addition to the various stages of drinking water production, including sedimentation, flocculation, filtration, and chemical treatment.

The staff at the Amerson Water Treatment Facility also provided educational information for visitors, a water fact and photo slideshow that ran throughout the event, and a closer look at the award-winning water quality laboratory at the Amerson Plant. Lunch and refreshments were provided.

The Open House guests were able to meet and ask questions of the MWA staff at the Amerson Plant, including inquiry about drinking water production and safe drinking water guidelines and regulations. The MWA employee efforts to welcome the public to the four-time winner of the drinking water “Plant of the Year” in Georgia were well received, according to organizers Gary McCoy, MWA Director of Water Treatment Operations, and Jocelyn Hunt, MWA Assistant Manager of Water Treatment Operations.

“The public seemed to appreciate the effort that goes into making sure we provide them with safe and affordable drinking water every day,” says McCoy.

For photos from the 2014 Open House at the Amerson Plant during national Drinking Water Week, check out our photo gallery at the “Learn More” link below.

Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
770-757-1681 (phone)
jcwood@uga.edu (email)