North Carolina honors City of Lenoir water treatment plant

LENOIR, NC (August 26, 2021) — The N.C. Division of Water Resources honored the City of Lenoir Water Treatment Plant and 63 other plants for surpassing federal and state drinking water standards in 2020.

The division’s Public Water Supply Section awarded the facilities the prestigious N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award, which is part of a state effort to enhance the performance of existing surface water treatment facilities.

Awards are given each year to water systems that demonstrate outstanding turbidity removal, a key test of drinking water quality. Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of water caused by individual particles that can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Microbes are microscopic particles that occur naturally but can include harmful bacteria and viruses.

“I appreciate the hard work of our staff at the water treatment plant,” Water Treatment Plant Superintendent Kevin Matheson said. “With the new upgrades at the plant, we expect to meet and exceed these standards for years to come.”

While all drinking water systems must meet strict state and federal drinking water standards, these systems met performance goals that are significantly more stringent than state and federal standards. In 2020, nearly 2.5 million North Carolina residents were served by these award-winning plants.

The award winners for 2020 are: