July 4, 2014. The Town of Boone has been recognized for surpassing federal and state drinking water standards and will receive the 2013 N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award from the Division of Water Resources’ Public Water Supply section.
“The awards are part of the N.C. Area Wide Optimization Program, which is an effort to enhance the performance of existing surface water treatment facilities,” according to a June 19 release by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
This award is given to those who demonstrate “outstanding turbidity removal, a key test of drinking water quality.”
All drinking water systems are subject to strict state and federal regulations. However, in order to receive this specific award, the municipality must meet performance goals that are “significantly more stringent,” as stated in the release. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Town of Boone has been honored with this prestigious award.
The Town of Boone was among 38 systems to receive the N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award from the state N.C. Division of Water Resources’ Public Water Supply section.
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 potentially include harmful bacteria and viruses. While all drinking water systems have to meet strict state and federal drinking water standards, these systems met performance goals that are significantly more stringent.
Water treatment plants in the following municipalities or counties will be receiving awards for 2013:
- Burnsville
- Asheville (North Fork and Debruhl water treatment plants)
- Woodfin Sanitary District-Sugar Camp Fork
- Weaverville-Ivy River
- Lenoir
- Hickory
- Newton
- Andrews
- Two Rivers Utilities
- Mount Holly
- Cherryville
- Robbinsville (Tallulah and Rock Creek water treatment plants)
- Waynesville-Allens Creek
- Maggie Valley Sanitary District
- Hendersonville
- Mooresville-Plant 2
- Lincolnton
- Lincoln County
- Marion
- Charlotte (Franklin and Lee S. Duke water treatment plants)
- Salisbury-Rowan
- Broad River Water Authority
- Boone
- Wilkesboro
- Louisburg
- Asheboro-W.L. Brown
- Eden-Robert A. Harris
- Henderson-Kerr Lake Regional Water
- Harnett County
- Orange Water & Sewer Authority
- Raleigh (E.M. Johnson and D.M. Benton water treatment plants)
- Tarboro
- Cary
- Cape Fear Public Utility Authority-Wilmington