North Carolina Recognizes Local Drinking Water Accomplishments

Recently, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality awarded 56 drinking water systems that exceeded state and federal drinking water standards in 2015 with the Area Wide Optimization Award. The awards are given each year to water systems that demonstrate outstanding turbidity removal which is a key factor in the quality of drinking water. While all drinking water systems have to meet strict state and federal drinking water standards, the systems that received this award met performance goals that are significantly more stringent. This award program is part of a joint states-EPA program designed to encourage water systems to comply with more stringent regulations and achieve higher levels of water quality.