CFPUA’s Sweeney Water Treatment Plant is among 57 drinking water plants in North Carolina recognized by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for treating drinking water to a higher standard in 2018 than required by federal and state regulations.
This is the 12th year in a row that Sweeney has received the N.C. Area Wide Optimization (AWOP) Award from the Public Water Supply (PWS) section of NCDEQ’s Division of Water Resources.
“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,” NCDEQ wrote in announcing the most recent award winners.
“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.”
Ben Kearns, CFPUA Water Treatment Supervisor, and other staff from Sweeney will accept the award July 18 at PWS’s Southeast Section Meeting at the Sanford Water Treatment Plant.
Sweeney is the largest of CFPUA’s three drinking water systems, treating about four-fifths of the drinking water CFPUA provides to the community.