Clearwater Receives ‘Wastewater Collection System of the Year Award’

Published on May 13, 2024

Congratulations to the teams at Clearwater Public Utilities, that were selected for the Florida Water Environment Association’s “Wastewater Collection System of the Year Award,” in the category of medium utilities that serve Florida communities of 20,000 to 75,000 accounts.

This award, given in April 2024, recognizes utilities for significant accomplishments and the fostering of excellence in the operation and maintenance of wastewater collection systems.

Each day, the collections team of Clearwater Public Utilities helps convey enough wastewater to fill about 1,000 backyard swimming pools – or to continually fill up one backyard pool in less than two minutes -- to the city’s wastewater facilities. Here is a look at Clearwater’s sanitary sewer system by the numbers:

• 12 MGD       Wastewater That Comes to Our Plants Each Day (in millions of gallons)
• 408               Miles of Sewer Lines
• 38                 Miles of Force Main
• 79                 Lift Stations
• 15,000          Manholes
• 33,400          Sewer Connection Points
• 99                 Employees in Our Wastewater Team

“I am proud of all the efforts of our teams at the city’s three wastewater plants each day,” said Richard Gardner, Clearwater’s Public Utilities Director. “Wastewater treatment is vitally important to a city’s infrastructure and often goes unnoticed. This award is the result of dedicated service, superior knowledge, and teamwork.”

Shown left to right are Andrew Blauvelt (utilities assistant manager), Justin Fletcher (wastewater collection supervisor), Reed Harvin (utilities maintenance supervisor), and Jeffery Barnes (utilities electronics technician), all of Clearwater Public Utilities.