The Lake County Department of Utilities (LCDU) received the Directors Award of Recognition from the Partnership for Safe Water—a program developed by the American Water Works Assn. (AWWA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and associated partner organizations—to guide water suppliers towards improving water quality by optimizing system operations.
LCDU received the Directors Award for its East Water Treatment Plant in Painesville, Ohio, and its West Water Treatment Plant in Willoughby, Ohio. Both plants were presented this award for successfully completing the self-assessment and peer review phase of the Partnership program. This phase includes comprehensive evaluation of treatment plant operations and performance, identification of performance limiting factors and the development of action plans to achieve optimization. Both the East and West plants joined a select group of utilities honored by the Partnership at AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) in Chicago.
“Our employees have worked hard for years to meet water quality standards,” said Randy Rothlisberger, sanitary engineer for LCDU. “This was a challenge they chose to accept. It was a long process requiring every employee to participate. This award is an indication of the pride and dedication our employees display every day to consistently exceed all water quality standards set forth by the water industry.”
“We are so honored that both of our water treatment plants received this award,” said Judy Moran, president of the Lake County Board of Commissioners. “The goal of our utilities department is to continually strive to optimize operations and improve the quality of water we deliver to our customers.”
Adds Commissioner Daniel P. Troy: “As water quality and its relationship to public health has been extensively discussed in the national news of late, it is indeed gratifying to see our county's fresh water supply systems receive this outstanding performance recognition. The Board of Commissioners, our Utility Department leadership and the dedicated workers in our two plants take this important service responsibility seriously, and we will continue to protect the citizens of our county by delivering a superior, and now, award winning product.”
Of the approximately 4,800 public water systems in Ohio, roughly 300 of them are surface water treatment plants and are eligible to participate in the Partnership for Safe Water’s treatment plant optimization program. Including the East and West Water Treatment Plants, there are currently eight active Phase III Director Award recipients in the state of Ohio.
The East Water Treatment Plant went online in 1982. It has a design capacity to treat 9 million gallons of water per day and currently provides roughly 3 million gallons of water per day to approximately 34,000 residents in Perry Village, North Perry Village, Madison Township and portions of Perry. The West Water Treatment Plant went online in 1985. It has a design capacity to treat 20 million gallons of water per day and currently provides roughly 10 million gallons of water per day to approximately 90,000 residents in Eastlake, Lakeline Village, Timberlake Village, Wickliffe, Willoughby, Willoughby Hills and Willowick. Both plants draw water from Lake Erie, which is then treated by LCDU plant personnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Partnership for Safe Water is a voluntary self-assessment and optimization program for water treatment plant and distribution system operation. Partnership members participate in a rigorous, four-phase self-assessment and peer review process developed by industry experts and are recognized industry-wide for their commitment to delivering safe water to their communities.
Source: American Water Works Assn.
