Atlanta Watershed Management honored with statewide platinum awards for water treatment and distribution

The Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) on Aug. 5 presented the City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management with statewide honors recognizing operational excellence: a platinum award for the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant, a gold award for the Chattahoochee Water Treatment Plant and a platinum award for Atlanta’s water distribution system.

Pam Burnett, executive director of GAWP, described the awards’ strict requirements. “To earn this award, you have to achieve a score of 95 out of 100 points” in distribution evaluations, she said, and platinum status requires five consecutive gold awards. For drinking water facility awards, Burnett said the plants must have zero permit violations for the award period. The Hemphill plant received platinum status for the second consecutive year, and the city’s distribution system earned a platinum distinction after sustained compliance.

Commissioner Greg Earley of the Department of Watershed Management told the council the work behind the honors is constant and intensive. “We take 975 samples a month. There's 21 tests that have to pass for each of those samples,” he said; over several years that represents more than a million tests in a row, he added. “When it comes to samples and water quality, it's not the 95% they have to get right. It's a 100%.”

GAWP emphasized the statewide nature of the competition: utilities across Georgia are evaluated, and compliance failures as small as late paperwork can disqualify an applicant for the award. The distribution platinum recognizes consistent, high‑level operation across many functional units within the department — distribution operations, engineering, linear infrastructure, watershed protection and others — the association said.

Council members praised Watershed staff for the awards. Council chair of the utilities committee Howard Shook called the accomplishments “a great accomplishment” and thanked staff from plant managers to crews working on the street. Commissioner Earley noted the department’s size and role: Watershed serves roughly 1.2 million residents and visitors daily and operates multiple large treatment facilities.

Officials said the awards do not mean the department has no remaining challenges: aging infrastructure, water main breaks and customer billing issues persist, Commissioner Earley and council members said. But they framed the awards as a recognition of steady operational excellence and reliability under demanding conditions.

The council adopted a proclamation recognizing the awards and invited plant managers and operations staff to the dais for photos.