For the third consecutive year, Birmingham Water Works has received awards for sustained excellence in water treatment as well as budget presentation.
The Partnership for Safe Water presented the Western Filter Plant with the 2022 Phase III 15-Year Directors Award for Water Treatment during a ceremony at the
American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and Expo (ACE) in San Antonio, Texas in June. In addition, the Shades Mountain Filter Plant received the Phase III Five-Year Directors Award for Water Treatment for 2022.
Last year, the Carson Filter Plant earned the Phase III 15-Year Directors Awards, while the Putnam Filter Plant received the award in 2020.
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 in water treatment. Partnership members participate in a rigorous four-phase self-assessment and peer review process, developed by water utility optimization experts and are recognized for their commitment to delivering safe water to their communities.
In addition, the Government Finance Officers Association has named Birmingham Water Works as the winner of its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the third consecutive year.
Birmingham Water Works Finance Department received a certificate of recognition for the budget presentation covering the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
Titled In This Together, the presentation’s theme represents the partnership between ratepayers and the organization and an awareness and concern of the impact of water service on the daily lives of customers.
“We realize the stresses on our community,” said Michael Johnson, General Manager of Birmingham Water Works. “So if we can do our part in communicating and running the utility in a way that’s responsible and prudent, then our customers feel that they’ve gotten value on what we’re doing to deliver services.”
The award requires government entities to satisfy nationally-recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation and to demonstrate how well the presentation serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device. Budget documents must earn a "proficient" rating in all four categories and for the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories to earn the award.
Since 1984, more than 1,700 government entities from across North America have competed in the award program. Other recent winners from Alabama include the State of Alabama, Jefferson County, and the municipalities of Alabaster, Auburn, Foley, and Gulf Shores.
