Staunton And Covington Among 80 Water Treatment Plants Recognized Bronze Award Recipients Meet Or Exceed A Minimum Standard For Filtration   (RICHMOND, Va.) – Eighty of Virginia’s water treatment plants have been recognized for excellence in their filtration and treatment processes, and for their everyday operations. The Virginia Department of Health‘s 2009 Excellence in Granular Media Water Treatment Plant Performance Awards were presented to 79 of the 131 treatment plants in the state that use “granular media gravity flow filters” to clean public water supplies. Granular media filters use sand and/or anthracite, garnet, activated carbon or other media to filter impurities from drinking water. “These awards recognize those treatment plants that produce water that is at least three times cleaner than required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and those plants that demonstrate excellence in their day-to-day operations,” explained Dr. Wesley Kleene, director, Office of Drinking Water, Virginia Department of Health. The awards are given according to three levels of performance: •     Bronze award recipients meet or exceed a minimum standard for filtration, at every filter during each month through the year. The filtered water is tested every 15 minutes. •     Silver award recipients meet or exceed the filtration standard, plus a standard for either water clarity or the filter backwash - or cleaning - process. •     Gold award recipients meet or exceed minimum standards for filtration, clarity, and the filter backwash process. •     Lexington Field Office [21 out of 32 water treatment plants]: •     GOLD (2): Louisa County Water Authority – Northeast Creek, Town of Woodstock •     SILVER (5): City of Salem, Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Food Processors Water Cooperative, Town of Broadway, Town of Strasburg •     BRONZE (14): five Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority plants at Crozet, North Rivanna, Observatory, Scottsville and South Rivanna, Catawba Hospital, City of Harrisonburg, City of Staunton, Lake Monticello, two Frederick County Sanitation Authority plants – James T. Anderson and James Diehl, Rapidan Service Authority – Greene, Town of Bridgewater, City of Covington

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