Maggie Valley water earns prestigious award
The headwaters of Maggie Valley’s watershed start at the Blue Ridge Parkway. Steve Orr photo
The Maggie Valley Sanitary District again earned top marks for water quality from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, one of 15 facilities to be recognized with the “Gold Star” honor for systems that have received an award for exceeding drinking water standards for 10 or more consecutive years.
While all drinking water systems must meet strict state and federal drinking water standards, systems receiving the N.C. Area Wide Optimization Award must meet performance goals that are significantly more stringent than these. In 2022, more than 3 million North Carolinians were served by these plants.
In addition to Maggie Valley, awards for superior performance in 2022 were given to the Western Carolina University Water Treatment Plant, three City of Asheville plants, the City of Hendersonville Water Treatment Plant and the Town of Weaverville-Ivy River Water Treatment Plant. The Weaverville plant joined Maggie Valley on the list of 15 Gold Star plants.
