News Release

Governor Riley Recognizes Huntsville Utilities for Water Awards

January 23, 2007

For the Huntsville Utilities Water System, 2006 was a banner year as it won two prestigious awards for having one of the best-operated water systems in the country.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley will make a presentation this afternoon at a news conference at the Von Braun Center recognizing Huntsville Utilities for winning the water awards.

In April of last year, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) presented Huntsville Utilities with the state's "Safe Drinking Water Act Excellence Award." Huntsville Utilities competed for this award with the other large water systems in the state that include Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in July that Huntsville Utilities had also won the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Excellence Award for Region 4, which is made up of eight states in the southeast.

These awards recognize Huntsville Utilities' water system for excellence in operation, water quality, maintenance, operation efficiency and outstanding success in implementing the Safe Drinking Water Program.

For fifteen of the past twenty years, Huntsville Utilities has also won a "Best Operated Water Plant" award from the Alabama Water and Pollution Control Association. Huntsville Utilities last won the EPA award in 1992.

Huntsville Utilities operates two surface water treatment plants that treat water from the Tennessee River. Combined, the two plants are capable of treating up to 68 million gallons of water each day. The Utilities also operates a ground water system (wells) with a capacity of pumping 15.4 million gallons of water daily.

Huntsville Utilities provides water service to over 79,000 customers and provides wholesale water to a number of area water systems.

The Huntsville Utilities Water System established a record last summer for the amount of water pumped in a single day when over 72.5 million gallons of water were pumped from the Utilities' water plants and wells on July 19.