During the year-end Fall Conference of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP), the Macon Water Authority (MWA) was recognized with the industry’s highest honors for water and wastewater operations.
The MWA received both the 2022 GAWP Collection System Platinum Award and Water Distribution System Platinum Award, for achieving an evaluative grade of 95% or higher on both systems for at least five consecutive years.
The MWA’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 water utilities across Georgia, in addition to grading systems for these awards of excellence.
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 MWA has received the Collection System Platinum Award for eight consecutive years, which means the MWA Sewer System has graded out at 95% or higher for 12 straight years.
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. This is the second consecutive year the MWA has received the GAWP Water Distribution System Platinum Award, which equates to six straight years of grading out at 95% or higher.
The Water Distribution System Platinum Award also prepares the MWA for its Georgia EPD Sanitary Survey, which is another comprehensive review of the Authority’s water distribution system administered by Georgia EPD regulatory officials every three years.
GAWP officials note that these Platinum Awards provide tangible evidence for MWA 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 MWA employees to learn from their successes and glean valuable information to improve operations at their respective utilities located all over the state.
Media Contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.
P: 770-757-1681
E: chris@jwapr.com or john.wood@gcsu.edu