Morganton's water plant honored for exceeding drinking water standard

The City of Morganton’s Water Treatment Plant surpassed the standard drinking water guidelines in 2023, and it has received an award for its work.

For exceeding federal and state drinking water standards in 2023, the N.C. Division of Water Resources has honored 79 treatment plants across the state that serve 3.6 million residents. This includes the City’s Catawba River Treatment Plant. The Public Water Supply Section awarded these facilities the prestigious N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award. This is a state effort to amplify their performances.

The Morganton treatment plant was, however, temporarily offline in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The hurricane struck on Sept. 27 and flooded various parts of the city, including water pumping stations. The City’s water storage was depleted, but by Oct. 1, the water system was back to code, and the boil advisory was lifted.

“The water treatment plant staff do a great job 24/7 to ensure that our customers have a high-quality product,” Director Brad Boris said. “This award is a testament to their dedication towards providing safe and reliable drinking water. I am very proud of them for achieving this accomplishment and their level of professionalism.”

These awards are given every year based on the plant’s excellent turbidity removal, which is haziness or cloudiness of the water caused by potentially harmful particles. These particles can lead to the growth of microbes; the microscopic particles develop naturally but can include harmful bacteria and viruses.

The City’s award-winning Catawba Water Treatment Plant distributes an average of 8.8 million gallons of drinking water per day. The plant is in the western area of the city, drawing directly from the Catawba River.