MACON, Ga. — Once again, the Macon Water Authority is back in the winner's circle for Macon's tasty water.
According to a news release from the water authority, MWA's tap water has been selected by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) as the Best Tasting Drinking Water in Georgia.
The annual statewide competition is held by the Georgia Section of the American Water Works Association (GAWWA), and took place last month at the Spring Conference of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) in Columbus.
The release says MWA's tap water won the honor of best-tasting tap water in Georgia’s District 5 during a competition in the morning before beating out the other regional taste test winners in the afternoon to bring home the honor.
The competition's qualifications included, according to MWA, "the Authority could not have any permit violations at its Frank C. Amerson, Jr. Water Treatment Plant for the past year – an achievement the MWA has reached for a decade."
The MWA will compete for the titles of “People’s Choice” and “Best of the Best” Drinking Water in North America during the AWWA’s annual ACE 23 Conference in Toronto in June. The Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America will come from those sectional winners from within the United States and Canada.
The release also says that in addition to winning the honor for the state's best-tasting water, the MWA also received other accolades during the GAWP Spring Conference, including:
• The Authority’s Chuck Mixon and Daniel Smith were inducted into the GAWP Golden Hydrant Society, which is an award society organized through GAWWA for the recognition of outstanding professionals in the drinking water industry.
• Michael Elliott won the District 5 Wastewater Top Operator Award.
• The Amerson Water Treatment Plant was recognized with the Best Operated Water Treatment Plant Certificate of Achievement in the category of Surface Water Facilities with a production capacity between 75-100 million gallons per day (MGD). To receive a Certificate of Achievement, which is an honorable mention in the Plant of the Year Award competition, a facility must score higher than 95% on its evaluation. The Amerson Plant scored 97% and was a runner-up for Plant of the Year by the narrowest of margins.
• The Amerson Plant also won the GAWP Platinum Award for 100% permit compliance for 10 consecutive years.
• Finally, the MWA Lower Poplar Water Reclamation Facility received a GAWP Gold Award for achieving 100% permit compliance – no permit violations – the previous year.
In 2009, MWA was honored with the award for the Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America.