COVINA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SouthWest Water Company today announced that it was recognized with three 2011 awards from the Northern Sacramento Valley chapter of the California Water Environment Association (CWEA): Plant of the Year Award, Supervisor of the Year Award, and Operator of the Year Award.

The wastewater treatment plant the Company operates for the City of Willows in California was named the chapter’s Plant of the Year for the third consecutive year. The award recognizes the complete and well-organized regulatory records that SouthWest Water and the City maintain at the facility. With a perfect compliance record in 2011, the facility successfully met very low regulatory limits on levels of turbidity (the cloudiness or haziness of water) and total coliform (various disease-causing bacteria).

The tertiary, conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plant serves a community of about 6,200 residents. The SouthWest Water team, headed by Facility Manager John Dobson, operates the plant in a safe and efficient manner, meeting all waste discharge permits, and producing an effluent that is recycled for irrigation of local farms.

City of Willows Public Works Director Greg Tyhurst, commenting on the award that honored his community’s facility, stated, 'Congratulations to the team at our plant! We thank them for a professional service to our residents.'

The chapter also honored two SouthWest Water employees: Facility Manager Mitch Ampi was presented with Supervisor of the Year Award and Operator Blaine Stone with Operator of the Year Award.

Ampi, a 16-year industry veteran, holds a Wastewater Treatment Grade 2 certification and manages a staff of four wastewater operators at the City of Corning wastewater plant. He describes his leadership style as being based on fairness, openness, and honesty. The facility he runs earned many industry awards over the years for excellent operations.

Stone, having started in the wastewater industry at age 16, is an integral part of the Corning team, supporting all areas of operations. He passed the Wastewater Treatment Grade 5 test (the highest level in California) and is expected to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Chico State University, California.

“These awards speak to the dedication, commitment, and focus of our employees who work hard to ensure the communities we serve have good, clean water that meets all federal and state regulations,” said SouthWest Water’s Managing Director of Operations and Maintenance Chris Malinowski. “It is a great honor to have our high standards of excellence in operations and leadership recognized through these merit awards.”

CWEA is dedicated to enhancing the education and effectiveness of California’s wastewater professionals and to being the premier wastewater industry association in California.

About SouthWest Water Company

SouthWest Water Company provides a broad range of operations, maintenance, and management services, including water production, treatment, and distribution; wastewater collection and treatment; customer service; and utility infrastructure construction management. The Company owns regulated water and wastewater utilities, and also serves cities, utility districts, and private companies under contract. More than a million people in five states depend on SouthWest Water for high-quality, reliable service. Additional information may be found on the Company’s website: www.swwc.com.