Anne Arundel County Public Works Dept. Receives National Awards

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Two Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works agencies have earned national awards recognizing their efforts to improve the quality of local waterways. The county bureau of utilities has received the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) peak performance awards for continued wastewater treatment excellence at each of the county’s six water reclamation facilities (WRF).

The watershed protection and restoration program (WPRP) was honored with a municipal stormwater and green infrastructure award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF) for innovation, effectiveness and cost-efficiency in exceeding regulatory requirements of the county’s municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit.

The Broadwater and Broadneck WRFs earned NACWA peak performance platinum award honoring treatment plants that have at least five consecutive calendar years without a single national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit violation. The peak performance platinum award for the Broadwater WRF reflects 22 consecutive years of 100 percent NPDES permit compliance, while the Broadneck WRF has had perfect compliance for the past six years.

Cox Creek, Maryland City, Patuxent and the Annapolis WRFs all received gold awards for achieving perfect permit compliance last year.

Because of the high performance of the WRFs, the county was awarded $1.2 million in operating grants and $2 million from the Clean Water Commerce Act program administered through the Maryland Department of Environment.

The municipal stormwater and green infrastructure award from the WEF was awarded to the department’s watershed program recognizing national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) municipal separate storm sewer system permit (MS4) holders for innovative, effective and cost-efficient program management.

Highlighted watershed program efforts include:

• In just over five years, the county has invested more than $25 million to repair and replace existing, failing, stormwater infrastructure as well as authorized the expenditure of over $250 million for water quality restoration projects.
• Since early 2015, the WPRP has issued over $4,000,000 in grants to local, non- profit organizations, leveraging another $6,400,000 in outside dollars, for restoration work that will help the County meet its permit goals.
• In 2016, the county developed a full delivery of water quality improvements program for the contracting of design/build/maintain projects by tapping into the innovation of the private sector. This public/private partnership (P3) has served as both a local and national model for creating an innovative and cost effective means deliver watershed restoration projects.
• In early 2019, Anne Arundel County became the first jurisdiction in Maryland (and perhaps nationwide) to use the state’s new nutrient trading program to achieve compliance with its stormwater permit. This innovative trade was available due to the over performance and significant nutrient reductions by the water reclamation facilities.

“These awards recognize and honors the outstanding work our operators, scientists and engineers perform each day to protect the environment and public safety,” said DPW director Chris Phipps in a statement. "Our remarkable compliance record is due to the high standards, work ethic, and dedication of these talented employees.”