The Henry County Water Authority has the best treatment plant in the state according to a statewide industry group.
At a recent conference, the Georgia Section of the American Water Works Association (GAWWA) presented its Plant of the Year Award to the HCWA for the Tussahaw water plant. It is the third time the Tussahaw facility has earned this honor, having done so in 2016 and 2011.
The award was for the category of surface water plants with a capacity of 15 to 25 million gallons per day. The current production capacity of the Tussahaw plant is 16.1 gallons per day, with infrastructure in place to double that production capacity in the future when needed, according to officials.
GAWP executive director Pam Burnett noted that this award recognizes the plant that scores the highest following an intense and comprehensive inspection of all competing treatment plants in Georgia by judges who are fellow water professionals.
“Every aspect of plant operation and management is inspected and scored from top to bottom, as compared to other plants across the state of similar size,” said Burnett. “The Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant has once again shown to be exceptional in not only how well it is operated and managed, but also in the excellent quality of the water produced. Congratulations to Henry County Water Authority, as this award is well deserved.”
The Tussahaw facility also received the GAWP Platinum Award for 14 consecutive years of 100 percent permit compliance. That means the plant has not had a permit violation since it came online in 2007.
The HCWA owns and operates two water production facilities within its system. The Towaliga water treatment plant is a previous Plant of the Year Award winner as well, in 2015 and 2019. Together, these two facilities have a combined rated treatment capacity of more than 40 gallons per day.
“I am extremely proud of all of our employees who manage and operate our treatment facilities, especially the staff at the Tussahaw plant responsible for this very special industry award,” said HCWA general manager Lindy Farmer. “I think this is the kind of award that provides tangible evidence of how tremendously dedicated and skilled our water professionals are. We hold ourselves to a higher standard because we have the public’s health and welfare in our hands, so we want to provide the very best quality of services possible.”
