Eastsound Water and Sewer District’s Eastsound wastewater treatment plant, Orcas Village wastewater treatment plant and Rosario Resort’s wastewater treatment plant were all recognized by the Washington state Department of Ecology for achieving full compliance with their water quality permits in 2015.

Wastewater plants are the first line of defense to protect public health and clean water. Because this work is so critical, the Washington Department of Ecology honors the state’s top-performing wastewater treatment plants with the Wastewater Treatment Plant Outstanding Performance Award.

The agency recognized 119 wastewater treatment plants across Washington this past year. That’s about a third of the wastewater treatment plants operating in the state.

“We appreciate the extraordinary level of effort plant operators demonstrated throughout 2015. Talented and proficient operators are critical to successful plant operations and protecting the health of Washington’s waters,” said Heather Bartlett, who manages Ecology’s Water Quality Program.

In picking the winners, Ecology evaluated all of the plants in Washington for compliance with meeting pollution limits, monitoring and reporting requirements, spill prevention planning, pretreatment, and overall operational demands of their water quality permit.

A complete list of the award winners for 2015 is on Ecology’s website.

When the awards program began in 1995, only 14 treatment plants had perfect compliance, compared to the 119 honored this year.

Along with funding and awards, Ecology oversees the certification program for wastewater operators – the people who actually run wastewater treatment plants.

“Washington’s growing population creates a greater need for wastewater treatment every day and we encourage people to go into this field because there are jobs to be had,” Bartlett added.

Find out more about the state’s wastewater operator certification program at Ecology’s website.