Jan 8, 2016 by Chris Wood, Ph.D.

GAWP President Bill Zieburtz (right) presents the Collection System Silver Award to (l to r): Chris Crittendon, Division Manager of Collection/Conveyance, Keisha Lisbon Thorpe, Division Manager of Technical Services, and Stephen Hogan, General Manager.

Just because a utility is small doesn’t mean it’s not good. That is the sentiment of officials from the Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority (PCWASA), as the utility operates a system in 2016 that has been rated among the best in Georgia.

During its yearend Fall Conference in Athens, the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) honored PCWASA with the industry’s Collection System Silver Award, for achieving a score of 94.9 on its annual system evaluation and audit for 2015. Silver Awards recognize sewer systems in the state that have achieved a quantitative score between 90 and 94.9 on an intense peer review by industry judges of all aspects of wastewater collection and conveyance.

With its score of 94.9, PCWASA was just one-tenth of a point away from the GAWP Gold Award, which was attained by only 10 sewer utilities in the state in 2015. PCWASA competes against much larger municipal systems for this type of statewide recognition, including those with both water and sewer operations. GAWP 2015 Gold Award winners included major metropolitan municipal and county systems such as Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett.

“Our community and system may be smaller than those who received similar recognition by GAWP, but we are no less committed as a utility to providing excellent sewer services for our customers,” says Stephen Hogan, PCWASA General Manager.

“We are pleased to have this statewide recognition for operating above the industry standards and excelling in sewer collection and treatment as one of the best systems in Georgia,” adds Hogan.

Hogan also notes that the 2015 GAWP Collection System Silver Award is the first of this type of industry recognition for PCWASA during its short history as an autonomous public Authority, reflecting what he believes is a utility headed in the right direction with its sights set on improvement and perhaps bringing home the GAWP Gold Award in the future.

“Our employees are very dedicated water professionals who take their responsibilities seriously, while striving to get better and improve services for our customers every day,” says Hogan.

“I cannot thank them enough for what they do, and we also are appreciative for our Board of Directors, who provide us with the resources and support to do our jobs at such a high level,” concludes Hogan.

The GAWP Collection System Awards are based on an overall grade disbursement that includes 15% for the quality of the utility’s Management Program, 40% for the assessment of its Maintenance Program, 20% for the evaluation of Operations, and the remaining 25% for its handling of Capacity.

Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
770-757-1681 (phone)
jcwood@uga.edu OR chris@jwapr.com (email)