RAWA Receives 5 year award for Partnership for Safe Water ~ Directors Award
2021 Award Winners Announced for the Partnership for Safe Water and Reading Area Water Authority once again was named for the 5th straight year. The awards were announced virtually this year and the actual award was presented to Gary Phillips, Director of Operations and Maintenance.
Reading Area Water Authority in Pennsylvania receives award of recognition for outstanding performance
March 1, 2016 — (Reading, Pa.) — Reading Area Water Authority has received the “Directors Award of Recognition” from the Partnership for Safe Water, a program developed by AWWA, EPA, and associated Partner organizations, to guide water suppliers towards improving water quality by optimizing system operations. The Reading Area Water Authority was presented this award for successfully completing the Self-Assessment and Peer Review phase of the Partnership program, a phase which includes comprehensive evaluation of treatment plant operations and performance, identification of performance limiting factors, and the development of action plans to achieve optimization. The plant will be one of a select group of utilities honored by the Partnership at the annual conference of the American Water Works Association, the largest and oldest worldwide organization dedicated to safe water.
The Partnership for Safe Water is a voluntary self-assessment and optimization program for water treatment plant and distribution system operation. More than 250 utility subscribers, collectively serving more than 100 million people, are committed to the Partnership’s goals of providing safe, high-quality drinking water through achieving operational excellence in water treatment. 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.
The Partnership for Safe Water is an alliance of the American Water Works Association, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Association of Water Companies, and the Water Research Foundation.
Winner of 2013 Exemplary Source Water Protection Award for Large Systems
- Awarded 2008 Conservation Organization of the Year by the Berks County Conservation District Farm Service
- Multiple commendations from the PA Department of Environmental Protection for meeting all MCL, monitoring and treatment technique performance requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Program
Reading Area Water Authority (RAWA) in Berks County just received notice that it has been selected to receive the 2013 National “Exemplary Source Water Protection Award” from the American Water Works Association in the large system category. The award recognizes organizations in North America that have developed and are implementing exemplary source water protection programs.
Reading Area Water Authority serves the City of Reading and relies primarily on surface water from Lake Ontelaunee which was constructed in 1926 and is located about six miles north of the City.
Source water is the untreated “raw” water from streams, rivers, lakes or underground aquifers that is used to provide public drinking water. It is important to protect the integrity of source waters in order to minimize the cost of treatment, as well as to reduce the risks to public health and our ecosystems.Source water protection is a voluntary effort in Pennsylvania, supported by PADEP and partners such as WREN.
According to RAWA’s Executive Director Dean Miller, “RAWA has invested many man hours and resources into this program. We are known throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as having one of the more elite programs…and RAWA is looked upon highly in this regard. This program implements Best Management Practices in our watershed to protect our Source Water and ultimately keep treatment costs down.”
“We at RAWA are VERY proud of this accomplishment and recognition,” continued Mr. Miller, “and hope that this accomplishment shows the dedication that is instilled into the day to day tasks that we do here and shows that efforts are continually being made to keep Reading Area’s water safe!”
RAWA will join other organizations within North America that have been recognized for their outstanding source protection efforts such as:
- 2010 – Boston, Massachusetts
- 2011 – Wilmington, Delaware
- 2012 – Portland, Maine
- 2013 – READING AREA WATER AUTHORITY, Reading, Pennsylvania
RAWA is a former WREN Source Water Protection Grantee 2008-2009. Congratulations to Dean Miller and the entire team at RAWA and partners for their outstanding achievement!