Aqua Pennsylvania’s wastewater treatment plant in Upper Providence Township in Delaware County has received the Phase III Directors Award from the Partnership for Clean Water.

The Partnership for Clean Water is a global optimization and recognition program for wastewater utilities developed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and other organizations to guide wastewater utilities toward preserving environmental water quality by optimizing system operations.

The plant provides wastewater treatment to the Borough of Media.

“We are proud of the significant effort by our Media wastewater operations team to participate in the partnership’s self-assessment and earn the directors-level honor,” said Aqua Pennsylvania President Marc Lucca. “The staff remained committed to process while safely operating the facility during the global pandemic.”

Aqua’s Media wastewater plant team is one of a select group of organizations presented with the Directors Award based on its completion of the self-assessment and peer-review phase of the Partnership for Clean Water program. This included a comprehensive evaluation of treatment plant operations and performance, identification of performance-limiting factors, and the development of action plans to achieve optimization.

Aqua’s Media wastewater plant is the 10th wastewater treatment plant in the country and the first in Pennsylvania to achieve this recognition.

“It’s essential that we clean wastewater, so we can safely return it to the environment and protect public health,” said Aqua Pennsylvania Water Quality and Environmental Compliance Director Matt Miller. “Not only did our team continue to tirelessly perform their daily work as the plant undergoes a more than $30 million upgrade, but they found a way to safely keep moving toward the partnership initiative during the pandemic. This award shows the power of our team’s determination to achieve operational excellence and continuous improvement.”

More than 55 utility subscribers are committed to the Partnership for Clean Water’s goals of protecting public health by optimizing wastewater system operations and achieving operational excellence in wastewater treatment. Partnership members participate in a rigorous self-assessment and peer-review process developed by wastewater utility optimization experts and are recognized for their commitment to protecting public health for their communities.

All 11 of Aqua’s surface water treatment plants in Pennsylvania are enrolled in the Partnership for Safe Water, a program developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, AWWA, and other organizations to guide water utilities toward improving drinking water quality by optimizing system operations. Four of Aqua’s surface water treatment plants have achieved Phase III Directors Award or higher partnership honors. AWWA is the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world.

Aqua Pennsylvania serves approximately 1.4 million people in 32 counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.