The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) honored the DC Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) with two prestigious 2009 National Environmental Achievement Awards and also the Gold Peak Performance Award, all for 2008 performances.

DC WASA was recognized by NACWA with a Research and Technology Award for its collaboration with the Alexandria Sanitation Authority on the Enhancing Nitrogen Removal and Increasing Sustainability with Innovative Sidestream Treatment project.

DC WASA was also honored for its public information and outreach efforts as part of the Virginia Biosolids Council. This award recognized inventive efforts to educate the public on the effects of waste water treatment and pollution control on the environment.

In addition, DC WASA received NACWA’s Gold Peak Performance Award recognizing the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant’s compliance record for 2008. The award honors wastewater treatment facilities that have achieved 100 percent compliance with their federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for an entire calendar year.

The NPDES permit for Blue Plains regulates discharges by the plant into the Potomac River and has some of the most stringent requirements in the United States. The 2009 Gold Peak Performance Award is the ninth Gold award, in addition to three Silver awards, that DC WASA has received in previous years.

Commenting on the awards, DC WASA Interim General Manager Avis M. Russell said, “We are honored by these three awards, which are a testament to the Authority’s employees, researchers and operators who are committed to protecting the environment through consistently brilliant performance and an innovative spirit. The staff at DC WASA continues to break ground with innovative solutions that advance the field of wastewater treatment.”

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About The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) is an industry-leading authority of District government that provides drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment for a population of more than 500,000 in the District of Columbia. DC WASA also treats wastewater for a population of 1.6 million in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties in Maryland, and Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. The Authority operates the world’s largest advanced wastewater treatment plant, with a capacity of 370 million gallons per day and a peak daily capacity of more than a billion gallons. DC WASA’s service area covers approximately 725 square miles.

About NACWA
NACWA represents the interests of more than 300 public agencies and organizations that have made the pursuit of scientifically based, technically sound and cost effective laws and regulations their objective. NACWA members serve the majority of the sewered population in the United States and collectively treat and reclaim more than 18 billion gallons of wastewater daily.