CARY/APEX WATER TREATMENT PLANT RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION

CARY , NC –For the fourth consecutive year, the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant has received the Director’s Award for water safety, an achievement reached by less than five percent of water utilities nationwide.  The western Wake plant is one of two municipal water systems in the Triangle and only the second in North Carolina to receive the Director’s Award, which is designed to encourage U.S. water suppliers to survey their utilities to implement activities to enhance the water system's ability to protect against Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other microbial contaminants.  

The award, along with the certification process, is overseen by the Partnership for Safe Water, which was formed in 1995 by the American Water Works Association, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the National Association of Water Companies, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators.  The Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant is a charter member.  

Jointly owned by the Towns of Cary and Apex and managed by the Town of Cary , the plant is capable of producing up to 40 million gallons of drinking water per day to Cary , Apex, Morrisville, Raleigh-Durham International Airport , and the Wake County portion of Research Triangle Park .  The plant was built in 1993 and draws its raw water from B. Everett Jordan Lake.  

The Director’s Award is the culmination of a three-phase voluntary certification process undertaken over about five years by the Cary/Apex water plant staff.  After signing the Partnership Agreement, plant staff began collecting and analyzing data about both the raw water going into the plant and the treated, or finished, water coming out of the plant that goes to customers.  The data focused on how clear and pure the water appeared, which is known as the water’s turbidity—or the amount of suspended particles that can be detected in the water.  The more cloudy or discolored the water, the higher the number of particles in the water, and the higher the water’s turbidity.  And in terms of water safety, the higher the turbidity, the higher the likelihood of the presence of dangerous microorganisms.  

To get the award, the Cary/Apex plant had to produce water that did not exceed a turbidity rating of 0.1 NTU (nepheleometric turbidity units), which is a far higher standard than the federal limit of 0.3 NTU.  This meant being able to take the dark brown raw water of Jordan Lake with an average turbidity of 5.0 to15.0 NTU and using the most advanced water treatment systems to remove particles to the 0.1 NTU level.  

The third step in the award’s process was a comprehensive self-evaluation of the water plant, which resulted in a report summarizing the facility’s performance--including any limiting factors, corrective steps taken, and performance improvements shown.  This Phase III Completion Report was reviewed by a team of trained utility professionals from the Partnership who make sure the process is productive, effective, and unbiased.  

“By joining and participating in the Partnership, the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility continues to demonstrate an outstanding commitment to public health and safety by finding ways to improve the water treatment process,” said Town of Cary Town Manager Bill Coleman.

The Cary Town Council will recognize water plant staff for their significant achievement at the Town Council meeting on September 14, 2006.

Learn more about the Partnership for Safe Water at www.awwa.org/science/partnership, or for more on the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant, visit www.townofcary.org.  

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