Vicksburg’s water treatment plant has received the 2021 Water Treatment Plant of the Year Award for the Mississippi/Alabama Region from the American Water Works Association for the third year in a row, according to information from the city.

The city’s overall water quality, plant improvements, energy efficiency and regulatory conformance were cited as criteria for the selection.  

“Having the best water treatment plant in the state of Mississippi for three years in a row just goes to show that Vicksburg is on the move like never before,” said Mayor George Flaggs Jr. “Our philosophy is to provide the best quality service at the least cost to the taxpayers. Today, we’re continuing to deliver on that promise.”

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen in 2016 hired ESG Operations Inc. of Macon, Ga., to operate and manage the plant. The plant has received a five-star rating from the Mississippi State Department of Health for the past five years and has been in 100-percent compliance with all regulatory agencies.

ESG also operates the city’s wastewater treatment plant on Rifle Range Road.

City officials credit ESG’s operation of the water plant as one reason for the award.

“Receiving the water treatment plant of the year for the third consecutive year “bodes well for the group we hired to run that plant,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said. “I think they’ve done a very good job.”

Mayfield is over public works, which includes the city’s utilities.

He said the board is still working to develop a “bigger and better system but I think we’re where we need to be doing at this time and I look forward to it being even better in the near future.

“I have to take my hat off to the people who are running that plant,” Mayfield said. “I just think they’re doing a great job and when you look at this southern district I think it bodes well as a whole, not just Vicksburg but for the water districts that buy water from us. I’m looking for bigger and better things in the future.”

He said the way AWWA representatives discussed the city’s water system before presenting the award, “When you compare us with some (water) associations, we’re light years ahead. I think everyone should be proud that we’re staying on the track because it wasn’t always that way.”

South Ward Alderman Alex Monsour called ESG a great company, adding, “They do a great job.

“It’s pretty phenomenal that you win Water Treatment Plant of the Year three years in a row,” he said. “You just don’t fall in with that so that means the guys who are running our water plant are about the best there is to do that. I can’t say enough about them. It’s not guesswork; it’s absolutely knowing what you’re doing.”