New England Water Works Association
125 Hopping Brook Road
Holliston, MA 01746-1471
T 508.893.7979 § F 508.893.9898
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 22, 2015
CONTACTS: Raymond Raposa (508) 893-7979 / (617) 694-8225
Kirsten King (508) 893-7979
Houlton Water Company
Named an Outstanding Utility of the Year by the New England Water Works Association
HOLLISTON, Mass. – The Houlton Water Company was named a 2015 Utility of the Year by the New England Water Works Association (NEWWA), the region’s largest and oldest not-for-profit organization of water works professionals.
“This award recognizes a utility that has made significant improvements to its water system infrastructure, customer service, staff training, and operations to further protect the safety of its water supplies and the public health of its consumers,” said Raymond J. Raposa, NEWWA executive director.
The water company was recognized in the medium-size systems’ category, which includes utilities that service a population between 3,301 and 49,999. Houlton Water Company serves a population of 6,200.
The Houlton Water Company has demonstrated diligence in reviewing its water infrastructure and developing plans to improve their already excellent service. The water/sewer field staff currently consists of four employees, who manage three water storage facilities, 43 miles of water mains, 37 miles of sewer collection system mains, 3 well fields, 2 water pump stations, 1 water booster pump station and 7 sewer pump stations. The company maintains an extraordinary collaborative spirit, which translates to excellent service for their customers in the town of Houlton and part of the neighboring town of Hodgdon. Personnel from each department and the company’s board of directors come together to work on many projects, including their very active safety program.
Houlton Water Company also values voluntarism, evident in their willingness to offer assistance to any and all utilities that need help locating leaks, unfreezing water services and water mains, and unplugging sewers. They are first to volunteer their facilities for training and always send multiple employees to show their support to training efforts.
The award was accepted by John Clark, general manager of Houlton Water Company, on Tuesday, September 22nd at NEWWA’s 2015 Annual Conference.
The New England Water Works Association is a nonprofit, independent, member-driven organization dedicated to serving the region’s water works professionals and the public interest. It is the oldest and most active regional water works association in the United States. For more than a century, NEWWA has worked to improve and sustain public water supplies, protect public health and safety, and advance the water supply profession. Visit us at newwa.org.