Service Authority Wins Prestigious Safety Award

The Prince William County Service Authority is proud to announce that the H.L. Mooney Advanced Water Reclamation Facility has won the 2014 Water Environment Federation(WEF) George W. Burke Facility Safety Award.

This national honor recognizes a municipal or industrial wastewater facility for establishing and maintaining an active and effective safety program.

The award was established in 1982 in honor of George W. Burke, Jr. for his many years of service to both the water environment field and WEF,a technical and educational nonprofit with 75 affiliated member associations around the world.

The Service Authority also earned this award in 2003 and 2010.

“Winning this award is a significant achievement for the Service Authority,” said Service Authority Safety/Loss Control Program Manager Joseph Del Priore. “We believe this award recognizes the commitment of our employees to making this a safe and healthy workplace.”

Technical training of all types is a significant component of the Service Authority’s mission. In 2014, employees working at the Mooney Facility put in 359 hours of safety training.

Learning how to safely operate a wastewater treatment plant is of the utmost importance to the Service Authority given the nature of the job and its environmentally sensitive location. Situated in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the Mooney Facility can treat up to 24 million gallons of wastewater every day.

After treatment, the cleaned water flows into Neabsco Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.

“The Prince William County Service Authority places a great deal of emphasis on safety to protect not only its employees, but also its customers and the environment,” said Environmental Services andWater Reclamation Director Evelyn Mahieu.

Earlier this year, the Mooney Facility wonthe National Association of Clean Water Agencies Platinum Award thanks to a sixth consecutive year without a wastewater permit violation.