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Union County Water honored with two state safety awards
Summary
Union County Water received the Walter J. Corman and George W. Burke Safety Awards, county risk manager said, recognizing the utility’s training programs, certifications and safety culture across operations.
Union County Water was recognized Thursday with two North Carolina industry safety awards for maintaining a strong workplace safety record and consistent injury reporting.
Mike Farrar, the county’s risk and safety program manager, said Union County Water won the Walter J. Corman Safety Award and the George W. Burke Safety Award from the state water association for performance in the prior calendar year. Farrar described the county utility’s in‑house training program, a dedicated safety professional, more than 680 annual training needs and nearly 185 safety‑related certifications across a staff of roughly 72 employees.
Farrar credited the utility’s leaders and staff for building “a safety culture” and cited position‑specific training, emergency action plans, incident investigation protocols and routine job‑site inspections. He also quoted the utility’s staff: “At Union County Water, safety is more than just training, inspections, and reporting,” Julian Coley said in remarks read by Farrar. “It is a core value that defines the workplace culture.”
County leaders invited utility staff forward to receive the awards and asked the board to recognize their accomplishment.
Why it matters: The awards indicate recognized safety performance among North Carolina municipal water and wastewater facilities and point to ongoing staff training and risk management practices that reduce injury and operational interruption.
