Tag Archives: winner

2024 Environmental Excellence Awards

July 7, 2025 Bella Nani

What happens when industry and environmental protection join forces? For 28 years, Charlotte’s Environmental Excellence Awards have been answering that question with remarkable results.

This year’s ceremony celebrates nearly three decades of partnership between Charlotte Water and industrial customers who’ve chosen to go beyond compliance. We’re recognizing over 800 awards that represent real environmental stewardship, facilities that don’t just meet permit requirements but actively champion environmental protection.

Taken by Cam Coley, employee City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water

The Impact Speaks Volumes: These collective efforts contribute to award-winning wastewater treatment facilities and the beneficial reuse of over 200,000 tons of biosolids since 1997. Each recognition represents a facility that has embraced environmental leadership as a core value, creating ripple effects throughout our community’s water systems.

Award Criteria:
Platinum – 5+ consecutive years of 100% compliance (reporting, monitoring, permit limits). No slug loading or SNC. Must discharge during year.

Gold – 100% compliance for 1 year. No slug loading in 2024. No SNC for 2 years. Must be permitted all of 2024 and discharge during year.

Silver – 100% compliance for reporting/monitoring; 90%+ compliance for permit limits for 1 year. No slug loading in 2024. No SNC for 2 years. Must be permitted all of 2024 and discharge during year.

Most Improved – 100% compliance for reporting/monitoring and 90%+ compliance for permit limits in 2024. No SNC or slug loading in 2024.

Crown Award – Must qualify for Platinum, Gold, or Silver and apply for one category:

Industrial Pretreatment – 100% compliance for 2+ years plus innovative technology, environmental excellence, and cooperation with Charlotte Water.
Water Conservation – Significant water use reduction or unique conservation/reuse approach.
Pollution Prevention – Source reduction program while maintaining high environmental standards.

Crown Award Recipients:

At the summit of environmental achievement, two organizations demonstrate what’s possible when industry embraces transformative change.

Bakkavor Foods USA earned the Crown Award for Most Improved; a recognition that tells a powerful story of environmental transformation. In food processing, where water usage presents complex challenges, their journey represents a fundamental shift in operational thinking.
Mecklenburg County 521 Foxhole Landfill claimed the Crown Award for Pollution Prevention, showcasing how waste management facilities can become environmental showcases rather than necessary burdens.

Platinum Award Recipients:

The Platinum tier reveals something fascinating: environmental excellence isn’t a destination, but a sustained journey.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company – 5th year
Chematron Incorporated – 1st year
Mecklenburg County 521 Foxhole Landfill – 14th year
Norfolk Southern Railway – Charlotte Roadway Shop – 9th year

Gold and Silver Awards Recipients:

The remaining 22 award recipients create a comprehensive network of environmental leadership spanning diverse sectors:

Gold Award: AO Smith Corporation, Arjobex America, Carrier Corporation, Charleston Spar, Chesapeake Treatment Company, Cintas Corporation 99k, Du-Norton, Frito-Lay, Hardcoatings, Safe Fleet, Snyder’s-Lance, Trane U.S., Union County Water, Vest Water Treatment Plant, Wallace Farm

Silver Award: Allied Plating Finishing, Bakkavor Foods USA, Barnhardt Manufacturing Company, Broadcom, Inolex Incorporated, Liquid Environmental Solutions, Pan-Glo Charlotte

These awards aren’t just certificates, they represent a fundamental shift in how industry views environmental responsibility. Each recipient demonstrates that environmental excellence and operational success aren’t competing priorities but complementary strategies, strengthening business performance and community health.

News, What's Going On?

Charlotte Water: Award-Winning Utility

January 27, 2023 Erin McNeely

Charlotte Water is proud to be an award-winning utility. Below is a list of the awards we have won in recent years.

NACWA Peak Performance Awards
The Peak Performance Awards recognizes NACWA member agency facilities for excellence in permit compliance. The Platinum Award recognizes 100% compliance with permits over a consecutive five-year period.

McAlpine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant

McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant

Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant

Ashe Plantation Wastewater Treatment Plant

NACWA Peak Performance Platinum Award

McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2008-2011, and 2017-2025)
McAlpine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2012-2025)
Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2009-2012, 2020 – 2025)
Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2020, 2021, 2022)
Oxford Glen Wastewater Treatment Plant (2021)
Ashe Plantation (2023 – 2025)
Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2025)

NACWA Peak Performance Gold Award

McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2002, 2004-2007, and 2013-2016)
McAlpine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2002-2003, 2006 and 2008-2011)
Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2005-2008, 2014 and 2016-2018)
Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2002, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2021 – 2024)
Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2002, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016-2018, and 2025)
Ashe Plantation Wastewater Treatment Plant (2021)

NACWA Peak Performance Silver Award

McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2000-2001, 2003 and 2012)
McAlpine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (1999-2001, 2004-2005 and 2007)
Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (2002, 2004, 2013, and 2015)
Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (1999, 2003-2004, 2008, 2010-2011, and 2014-2016, 2018)
Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (1999-2001, 2003-2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2023, and 2024)

Utility of the Future Today (2017 – 2020, 2022, 2025)
This program recognizes utilities that exhibit sustainability and resilience in the communities they serve.

NC One Water Disaster Preparedness Award (2022)

Charlotte Water Security & Preparedness Team

ACEC Engineering Excellence Award (2022)

Awarded to the Irwin Creek Tributaries Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project

Partnership for Safe Water Treatment Program (2018)
5-Year Directors Award (Phase III)
The Partnership’s award-winning utilities demonstrate an outstanding commitment to delivering superior quality drinking water to customers. Utilities that subscribe to the Partnership are dedicated to providing high-quality water to customers, even beyond regulatory requirements.

Franklin Water Treatment Plant

NC AWWA-WEA Collection System of the Year (2018)

NC DENR Area-Wide Optimization Program (2018, 2022, 2023)

Franklin Water Treatment Plant
Vest Water Treatment Plant
Lee Dukes Water Treatment Plant

Renew Brew “Best in Show” 2024

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Award-Winning Utility: Utility of the Future Today

October 12, 2022 Erin McNeely

We’re honored to be recognized by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) as a Utility of the Future Today! This is Charlotte Water’s fifth time receiving this recognition, and we are one of 34 utilities being recognized in 2022. This program recognizes utilities that exhibit sustainability and resilience in the communities they serve.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, October 11, Charlotte Water Director Angela Charles received the award during the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) ceremony.

“Charlotte Water’s organizational culture is one of sustainability both now and for the future, embracing innovation, inspiration, and leadership in our community,” said Charles. “We will continue to follow our Charlotte Water Vision: To be a leading water utility recognized for excellence and dedicated to our people, community, region, and environment.”

The Utility of the Future Today Recognition Program seeks to reach deeply into the water sector to form and motivate a community of like-minded water utilities engaged in advancing resource efficiency and recovery, developing proactive relationships with stakeholders, and establishing resilient, sustainable, and livable communities. The Recognition Program, through the aggregation and sharing of utility advancements and experiences, will enable participants across a broad continuum of capacities and capabilities to learn from each other and continually grow and sustain their efforts to be, and continually advance the concept of, the Utility of the Future. (www.wef.org)

We are so proud of the great work our utility has accomplished this year, and we will continue our hard work to be an award-winning utility in 2023.

For more information about our awards, please visit the awards page on our website, and to learn more about WEF and the Utility of the Future Today award, visit their website here.

News, What's Going On?

Award Winning Utility: Operator Ingenuity Awards

June 3, 2020 Erin McNeely

Have you ever thought there was a better or more efficient way to get something done? Well that’s exactly what a couple of our employees thought here at Charlotte Water when they decided to create unique tools to make a part of their job easier, safer, and more cost-effective for themselves and their coworkers!

Every year, WEFTEC (The Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibit and Conference) holds their annual Operator Ingenuity Contest. This contest is open to anyone in the water industry who has developed a creative tool to use on the job. The ideal invention should be unique, cost-effective, and it should make your job easier and potentially safer. It doesn’t matter what area of water you work in, all ideas are welcome in this contest – ideas range from treatment processes, safety measures, human resources, and everything in between. In the past there have been multiple winners, based on the types of entries that are received. In 2018 there were three categories that won an award, and in 2019 there were seven categories that won an award.

Charlotte Water is proud to claim winners for each of those years. In 2018, Brian Avino, a Treatment Plant Mechanic Assistant, won for his invention of the “Goop Scoop,” and in 2019 Johanna McHone, a Plant Operator, won for her invention of the “Polymer Peeler” (or also referred to as the “Tight Squeegee”).

Brian actually created his idea before even knowing about the contest. For his invention of the “Goop Scoop,” he created a device used to remove clumps in the polymer tanks that resemble “fish eyes.” To do this, he created a sifter by drilling holes in the bottom of a plastic container, and attached it to a pole so that he could lower it into the tank for scooping. The holes in the container were small enough to drain and preserve the “good polymer” (which is very slippery) back into the tank, while also preventing a potentially dangerous spill. Prior to his invention Brian was using a mesh net to remove the “fish eyes” from the tank. This tool worked to remove them, but it also removed much of the good polymer and would often times leave behind a slippery mess.

Before his invention of the “goop scoop” Brian was using the mesh net, pictured here, to capture and remove the “fish eyes” from the tank.

Now, Brian uses the “goop scoop” to remove the “fish eyes” from the tank, preserving the good polymer and without leaving any spills behind.

Johanna’s invention was called the “Polymer Peeler.” This tool was used to peel off the polymer slime that would often build up on the insides of the tanks. She created this tool using a dust mop, a squeegee, a pipe clamp, and a zip tie. Prior to her invention, she was using a heated pressure washer that would often put her and others at risk for back-splashing of the extremely hot water and/or chemicals. The washer was also using a lot of energy and water – whereas the “Polymer Peeler” eliminates the use of both altogether.