Oconee Co Water Resources recognized for excellence

The Georgia Association of Water Professionals has handed its highest honor to Oconee County: the Oconee County Water Resources Department has won a System Excellence Award.

From the Oconee Co government website…

The Oconee County Water Resources Department recently earned the 2021 Georgia Association of Water Professionals Gold Wastewater Collection System Excellence Award for meeting industry standards for capacity, management, operation, and maintenance following a system-wide audit. The award will be officially presented at the GAWP Fall Conference in November at the Athens Classic Center.

Achievement of this award is a result of the dedication of Water Resources personnel to ongoing excellence and outstanding customer service. The Gold Wastewater Collection System Excellence Award is one of the most rigorous and most difficult to win.

“When we started the program 3 years ago, we realized that we weren’t ready to compete yet, but made the decision that we would dig in and eventually get to where we wanted to be,” said Oconee County Water Resources Director Tim Durham. “The program objectives were divided among staff, and we had regular meetings which made the process manageable and created accountability between team members.

“The program produces a lot of additional work, and I realized during the process that we had the right people in place when they were excited about making things better,” continued Durham. “I can’t say enough about the positive attitudes and effort that was made by everyone, and I am very proud of the entire team.”

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