Public Works Water Division receives award

Cordova Public Works Water Division employees, from left, Malvin Fajardo, Joel Felix, Daniel Adajar and Joseph Sison, display their 2017 WATERS Award received recently from Region 10 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo courtesy of Cathy Sherman)

Cordova’s Public Works Water Division was one of 11 recipients of WATERS Awards from Region 10 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recognizing innovative and effective Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) projects.

The city’s unique geography and high demand for water used in fish processing requires the public drinking system to rely on four surface water sources treated in three water treatment plants.

For many years, water sources from Murcheson Falls, Heney Creek Dam/Meals Reservoir, and Orca catchment were unfiltered, while water from the backup source, Eyak Lake, has been filtered and chlorinated at the 3.5 million gallons per day treatment plant.

This project enabled Cordova’s drinking water treatment and distribution system to meet Long Term 2 Surface Water Treatment Rule compliance requirements through installation of UV disinfection at Orca, Meals, and Murcheson Water Treatment Plants, upgrades to the filter system at Eyak Lake Water Plant, a new onsite Sodium Hypochlorite Generation System, and upgrades to the SCADA system.

This project was made significantly more affordable by the 1.5 percent interest rate offered via a DWSRF loan, as well as $1.9 million of principal forgiveness.

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