AUB TREATMENT PLANT EARNS
EIGHTH STRAIGHT OPERATIONAL AWARD

ATHENS, Tenn. - The Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association has awarded Athens Utilities Board (AUB) its eighth consecutive Continued Operational Excellence Award for the operation of the North Mouse Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In Tennessee, only Eastman Chemical in Kingsport surpasses the consecutive number of times that AUB has earned this award. “That’s prestigious company to keep,” said Jill Davis, AUB’s superintendent for water and wastewater.

The award is for wastewater treatment plants that have one or less discharge violations in the year. AUB’s North Mouse Creek plant had zero effluent violations for the year, Davis said.

“As we’ve said for the past seven years, this being the eighth, the operators at the North Mouse Creek plant simply set the mark for how to run a treatment facility. They are an outstanding group who take their jobs as seriously as anyone in any industry,” Davis said.

Greg Hayes, who oversees operations at AUB’s two wastewater treatment plants, is unwavering in his view of why the plant continues to operate so well.

“The single biggest factor in our achieving this year after year is operator commitment to excellence,” Hayes said. “They do so much for the community to be proud of, from their expert oversight of the biological process to their top-notch maintenance of the equipment,” he said.

The plant was designed and built to capitalize on state-of-the-art process control and it continues to be a model facility. It came online in 1995 and has operated since then with no violations of treated water quality standards.

AUB General Manager Eric Newberry agrees with Davis and Hayes and added that AUB’s success at North Mouse Creek gains strength through cooperation of many employees and community players.

“Our operators and laboratory technicians at our Oostanaula plant lend tremendous support to the North Mouse Creek operations. Our collection system operators do a tough job and do it with pride and skill. And we enjoy great cooperation from local industry in the industrial pretreatment program,” Newberry said. “Of course, our AUB board continues to provide us the support and guidance we need to make it all come together,” he said.

On the other side of town, work is well under way on a major upgrade to AUB’s Oostanaula Wastewater Treatment Plant, located on Alford Street. The approximate $16-million upgrade will provide a new state-of-the-art facility for all practical purposes, Davis said, and will position AUB to serve Athens residents and industry for future growth.

The bottom line, Davis says, is protecting the health of the public and the environment. “That’s the whole reason for building and operating a wastewater treatment plant,” Davis said. “It all comes down to clean water for our local environment and the people who live here.”