ABINGDON, Va. — The Washington County Service Authority (WCSA) has earned a Gold Award in operations and performance excellence from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Office of Drinking Water. The recognition is the highest ranking bestowed on water utilities.
WCSA was honored as part of the VDH Office of Drinking Water’s 2023 Excellence in Waterworks Operations/Performance Awards. The water utility received the award for the Middle Fork Drinking Water Plant following a 12-month data analysis by the VDH Office of Drinking Water.
The award was presented to WCSA staff on April 4 at the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP) Water is Life!2024 event in Roanoke.
Each year, through Virginia’s Optimization Program, the VDH recognizes drinking water plants that perform above and beyond minimum water quality standards by optimizing and running their treatment process efficiently and effectively. The primary purpose of the program is to reduce risks to public health associated with drinking water.
“The Gold Award recognizes the hard work and dedication of our Middle Fork team to provide the highest-quality drinking water for our customers every day throughout the year,” says Ron Seay, acting general manager for WCSA. “This award demonstrates our employees’ commitment to making a difference for our customers throughout our service area by providing drinking water that meets or exceeds the standards set forth by the VDH.”
WCSA has the largest permitted capacity and serves the largest number of service connections in the Mount Rogers Planning District, and has consistently been a top performer in the Virginia Optimization Program. This year marks the 13th time WCSA has earned the gold ranking.
Of the 121 conventional surface water treatment plants evaluated by the VDH during 2023, WCSA was among 50 that received a gold award, while 34 received silver awards. According to the VDH Office of Drinking Water’s Abingdon Field Office (AFO), more than half of this year’s gold awards were earned by drinking water plants in the AFO area. Among the 11 Mount Rogers Planning District participants in the Virginia Optimization Program, eight received a perfect score, including WCSA.