The Orange Water and Sewer Authority’s (OWASA) Jones Ferry Water Treatment Plant recently received the prestigious Phase IV 5-Year Excellence in Water Treatment Award from the Partnership for Safe Water. OWASA is one of only nine utilities to date to achieve this highly significant longevity award, honoring superior water treatment plant optimization and performance.

Phase IV represents the highest possible level of performance that can be achieved in the four-phase Partnership for Safe Water program and signifies fully optimized plant performance that produces water quality surpassing required federal standards. The OWASA has participated in the Partnership for Safe Water program since 2002, and the Jones Ferry Water Treatment Plant received the program’s Phase IV Excellence in Water Treatment Award in 2011. The plant has been recognized for its outstanding performance with Partnership awards several times over the past five years, most recently receiving the program’s 10-Year Directors Award in June 2015.

“Receiving the 5-Year Excellence in Water Treatment Award highlights our ongoing commitment to water quality by the entire utility staff. It’s a very significant achievement, and a key aspect of our ongoing efforts to optimize operations,” said Kenneth Loflin, Water Treatment and Supply Manager. “Ensuring public health protection by improving the quality of the water delivered to our customers remains a steadfast goal that we continuously strive to meet and exceed.”

The Partnership for Safe Water is a self-assessment program for water treatment plant and distribution system optimization. More than 250 utility subscribers, collectively serving more than 100 million people, commit to the Partnership’s goals of providing safe, high-quality drinking water by achieving operational excellence in water treatment or distribution. Partnership utility subscribers participate in a rigorous four-phase self-assessment and peer review process, developed by water optimization experts, and achieve recognition for their commitment to the delivery of safe water for 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.