DC WASA was recently honored for sustained operational and strategic excellence and for the Blue Plains wastewater treatment plant’s regulatory compliance record. In addition, a Blue Plains engineering project won a regional award, and DC WASA was recognized by CIO Magazine in its annual list of Top 100 organizations for excellence in information technology.

Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) has been recognized yet again as a national leader in water utility management for operational and strategic excellence. DC WASA was among only 11 utilities in the country to receive the 2008 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA).

DC WASA was presented with the Platinum Award for Sustained Competitive Achievement in 2006 and the Gold Award for Competitive Achievement in 2003, and won this new award for sustained achievements in strategic planning, operations, finance, technology, human resources and communications. In addition to customer service and technology improvements, DC WASA’s peer-reviewed research and career development programs help make it one of the top water utilities in the nation.

Gold Peak Performance Award
DC WASA also received the Gold Peak Performance Award recognizing the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant’s compliance record for 2007. The award, presented by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), honors wastewater treatment facilities that have achieved 100 percent compliance with their federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for an entire calendar year.

The NPDES for Blue Plains regulates discharges by the plant into the Potomac River and has some of the most stringent requirements in the United States. The 2007 Gold Peak Performance Award is the eighth Gold award, in addition to three Silver awards, that DC WASA has received in previous years.

Grand Award Winner in Engineering Excellence
The American Council of Engineering Companies of Metropolitan Washington (ACEC/MW) selected the Blue Plains Total Nitrogen Removal/Wet Weather Plan as the Grand Award Winner in the Non-Design category for the 2008-2009 ACEC/MW Engineering Excellence Awards. The judges were impressed with “the solutions that were reached to counter the site constraints, the multiple innovative processes and technologies that were introduced in the project, and the numerous ways that expectations were obviously exceeded.” The contractors working with DC WASA on the project are Metcalf & Eddy / AECOM. This award qualifies the project to enter the national competition.

CIO Magazine Top 100 List
CIO Magazine named DC WASA to its annual list of Top 100 organizations that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. DC WASA joins such notable organizations as Lockheed Martin and Coca-Cola on this prestigious list.

“The CIO 100 award honors organizations that have used technology in innovative ways to generate value to the business," said Abbie Lundberg, Editor in Chief of CIO magazine. "Unlike other top lists, it’s not just about who’s biggest—it’s about who’s doing the most interesting and relevant things” with technology.