North Carolina announces drinking water awards

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North Carolina announces drinking water awards

The North Carolina Division of Water Resources has honored 79 water treatment plants for surpassing federal and state drinking water standards in 2023.

The division’s Public Water Supply Section awarded the facilities the prestigious N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award, which is part of a state effort to enhance the performance of existing surface water treatment facilities.

For 2023, the state recognized 16 facilities with the “Gold Star” honor, which is awarded to systems that have received the N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award for 10 or more consecutive years. The only winner in The Smoky Mountain News coverage area was the Maggie Valley Sanitary District Water Treatment Plant.

Awards are given each year to water systems that demonstrate outstanding turbidity removal, a key test of drinking water quality. Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of water caused by individual particles that can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Microbes are microscopic particles that occur naturally but can include harmful bacteria and viruses.

While all drinking water systems must meet strict state and federal drinking water standards, these systems met performance goals that are significantly more stringent than state and federal standards. In 2023, over 3.6 million North Carolina residents were served by these award-winning plants.

The award winners from the SMN coverage area for 2023 are:

Related Items

• Fontana Dam Water Treatment Plant

• Franklin Water Plant

• Maggie Valley Sanitary District Water Treatment Plant

• Western Carolina University Water Treatment Plant

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