North Penn Water Authority Receives Prestigious Award

Utility among first honored with Partnership for Safe Water's Directors Award

North Penn Water Authority (NPWA) was honored with the Directors Award for its efforts with the Partnership for Safe Water’s Distribution System Optimization Program at an awards lunch last month during the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and & Exposition held in Philadelphia.

NPWA became the first public water utility in Pennsylvania and among the first in North America to receive this prestigious honor. This award acknowledges the Authority’s commitment to excellence in distribution system operations in providing high quality safe drinking water to the customer’s tap above and beyond regulatory standards.

NPWA received the award for successfully completing a comprehensive self-assessment of water distribution system operations, a significant achievement towards ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality drinking water to the community. The assessment involves an evaluation of distribution system operations and performance, including factors such as chlorine residuals, pressure levels and frequency of water main breaks. The final report is reviewed by water resources professionals from across the United States.

“As a Partnership Distribution Program subscriber utility, we are honored to be the first utility in Pennsylvania to receive this award,” said Anthony J. Bellitto Jr., P.E., executive director of North Penn Water Authority. “NPWA’s goal is to be a leader in optimization, and to continuously strive to optimize performance and water quality. Achievement of the Directors Award demonstrates our ongoing commitment to protecting public health.”

“The Partnership for Safe Water congratulates North Penn Water Authority on receiving the first Directors Award for the distribution system optimization program in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Barb Martin, director of engineering and technical services at AWWA. “Utility staff are commended for their commitment to optimization and public health protection.”

The Partnership for Safe Water is a voluntary self-assessment and optimization program for water treatment plant and distribution system operation. More than 300 utility subscribers, collectively serving more than 100 million people, are committed to the Partnership’s goals of providing safe, high-quality drinking water through achieving operational excellence. Partnership members participate in a rigorous four-phase self-assessment and peer review process, developed by industry experts, and are recognized broadly for their commitment to delivering safe water to their communities.

The Partnership for Safe Water is sponsored by 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.

About North Penn Water Authority
Established in 1965, North Penn Water Authority (NPWA) is a municipally owned, nonprofit Authority with a dedicated, professional workforce committed to providing the community with a safe, reliable, and economical water supply. Water supplied to their customers comes from both a surface water supply that is treated at the state of the art Forest Park Water Treatment Plant (FPWTP) and from 15 groundwater wells located throughout the service area. To provide the highest quality water, the Authority has in place a main replacement program and performs annual flushing of its 575 miles of water main which serves more than 34,000 customers. NPWA also owns and maintains all fire hydrants in the service area to ensure hydrants are in working order in case of fire emergencies. NPWA employees, many of whom are NPWA customers themselves, take pride in being able to provide this service to the community. For more information, visit www.npwa.org.