All News Releases By Date

South Central Urban Water Reuse Facility in Douglasville, Georgia receives EPA Clean Water Act Recognition Award

Release Date: 11/28/2007
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, (404) 562-8293, [email protected]

(ATLANTA – November 28, 2007) Today, EPA announced that the South Central Urban Water Reuse Facility (SCUWRF) in Douglasville, Ga., with the EPA Region 4 2007 Clean Water Act Operations & Maintenance Award for the small non-discharging wastewater treatment plant category with a capacity of equal to or less than a million gallons per day. EPA’s national office has also recognized SCUWRF’s innovative treatment technology and land application system with a 2007 Clean Water Act First Place Award for Operations and Maintenance in the small, non-discharging plant category.

Under the Clean Water Act, EPA provides awards to facilities that have demonstrated outstanding and innovative waste treatment and pollution abatement practices during the year. The program is intended to educate the public about the contributions publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities make to clean water and to recognize communities that go beyond the minimum requirements needed to meet the Clean Water Act.

SCUWRF serves over 9,000 people and its primary goals of operating and maintaining an efficient sanitary sewer system are met with the help of diligent staff who conduct timely inspections and repairs of the sewer system and innovative technology. Through an aggressive monitoring and inspection program, SCUWRF staff reduced inflow/infiltration problems in the South Central basin by 29 percent. These problems cause increased flows to enter the sewer system, which can lead to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) of untreated wastewater entering the environment. SSOs pose a significant threat to public health and water quality. Process control and monitoring software have also improved wastewater operations at the facility and increased staff awareness of the plant's processes. SCUWRF reuses their treated wastewater to irrigate a wooded 120 acre site around their facility. In addition, SCUWRF has provided various public education opportunities for the community by sponsoring events such as Career/Truck Day, Walmart’s Safety Month, Clean Water Week and school presentations which enhance awareness of many water and wastewater issues.

More information about the award is available online at: http://epa.gov/owm/mtb/intnet.htm