Chester Water Authority, located in Delaware County, recently completed the fourth and final phase of the Partnership for Safe Water (PfSW) Treatment Program, a voluntary effort to provide safe drinking water.

Phase IV is also known as “Excellence in Water Treatment.” Presently, the water plant provides drinking water service to approximately 138,100 people. Chester Water Authority is only the second water plant to complete this phase of the PfSW in Pennsylvania.

The PfSW is made up of the Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pennsylvania Section American Water Works Association and other drinking water organizations.

Its goal is to implement preventative measures that are based on optimizing treatment plant performance.

There are four phases to the PfSW. Phase IV is the highest phase and includes a rigorous assessment to determine conformance with PfSW performance goals. A third-party team of utility peers reviews the plant data and determines if optimized performance has been achieved.

Successful completion of Phase IV will result in the plant receiving the Excellence in Water Treatment Award from the PfSW. So far, only 12 water treatment plants in the nation have reached Phase IV status.

For more information, visit the Partnership for Safe Water webpage or contact Kevin Anderson at 717-783-9764 or send email to: keanderson@pa.gov.

5/20/2013