November 17, 2020 (Carrollton, Ga.) – The Georgia Association of Water Professionals recently honored the Carrollton Water Treatment Plant’s lab for ensuring the city’s drinking water is of the highest quality.

The city earned the GAWP’s Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control Silver Award for a city serving 10,000-100,000 people. 

“This award recognizes that our state-certified lab is going above and beyond all state and federal minimum standards for water quality monitoring,” said Water Plant Superintendent Connie Nelms. 

Nelms said the city last won the QA award in 2012

The city’s full-time lab analyst, Emily Williamson, analyzes and monitors microbiological water samples taken at locations around the city in the lab at the Water Treatment Plant on North Park Street. Each sample is tested for chlorine residual and coliform bacteria. Emily also performs courtesy checks and education when customers call with water quality concerns. 

The number of samples is determined by GA EPD, based on population. Carrollton currently has 60 sampling sites distributed across the city. The sites are arranged along two routes of 30, which are sampled and tested on alternating months. Nelms said population growth will require additional testing sites and expects to have to increase to 40 sites per month when the results of the 2020 Census become available. 

“What makes this award so special is, after evaluation by our peers using state and federal regulations, that we know we are doing what we need to do – plus,” said Nelms. “Every lab, like every plant, is different and peer collaboration is important. We continue to learn from other labs methods or ways to always improve.”

City systems under a certain population are allowed to send their samples off for analysis but above that point have to have their own lab onsite. The first state inspection of Carrollton’s lab was in 1975.

Emily is a Carrollton native and Carrollton High School graduate. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of North Georgia in December, 2019.

For more information about the Carrollton Water Quality Laboratory or Water Treatment Plant, please call (770)830-2021.