Atlanta-Fulton County Water Resources Commission Renews Award-Winning Drinking Water Partnership with Veolia

BOSTON, March 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Atlanta-Fulton County Water Resources Commission (AFCWRC) has renewed its partnership with Veolia, the global leader in environmental solutions and optimized resource management, to continue operating, maintaining and managing the Commission's drinking water treatment facilities. AFCWRC and Veolia serve 370,000 people in Atlanta and North Fulton County.

Under the five-year renewal agreement valued at $22 million over the contract term, Veolia North America and minority-owned joint-venture partner KHAFRA Engineering will be responsible for operations and maintenance of the facilities. The AFCWRC will continue to own all drinking water assets and maintain rate-setting authority.

Veolia has operated the regional surface-water filtration plant, raw water pump station and maintained associated reservoirs since 1990. Operations have continued without a single regulatory violation or service disruption to customers in Atlanta or Fulton County. In addition, Veolia offers site tours to the public and hosts global visitors interested in information about operating and maintaining these state-of-the-art facilities.

Since 1990, Veolia has, on behalf of AFCWRC:

• Expanded treatment capacity from 30 MGD to 90 MGD, with a maximum capacity of 135 MGD
• Reduced power, chemical and O&M costs, passing 100 percent of savings on to the client
• Saved the Commission and ratepayers $25 million dollars through efficient operations
• Treated and delivered more than 280 billion gallons of potable drinking water without a regulatory violation or disruption in water distribution service to either the City of Atlanta or Fulton County
• Received numerous commendations from the EPA, the Georgia Water and Pollution Control Association, the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, and industry safety organizations
• Supported the City of Atlanta's First Source Jobs initiative related to entry-level and apprenticeship opportunities
• Contributed more than $350,000 to local organizations in the communities served by water operations
• Conducted educational tours for schools, industry professionals, community organizations and international delegations interested in learning about these state-of-the-art facilities -- 340 people have visited the plant in 2015 alone.

"This is not only an excellent example of a successful public-private partnership in the Atlanta region, but a demonstration of how the private sector can support compliant, safe municipal water utility operations across North America," said William J. DiCroce, president and CEO of Veolia North America. "Our team is proud of its 25-year partnership with Atlanta-Fulton County and together, we remain focused on providing high levels of service and realizing even greater achievements."

At the beginning of Veolia's partnership, KHAFRA was a small local minority-owned business enterprise with no O&M experience. Veolia assisted KHAFRA in developing the staffing, management tools and experience needed to perform as an effective partner. Today, KHAFRA is an award-winning professional engineering, environmental, architectural and planning services firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with regional offices across the country.

Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 179,000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them. In 2014, the Veolia group supplied 96 million people with drinking water and 60 million people with wastewater service, produced 52 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 31 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of $29.6 billion in 2014. www.veolia.com

More information:

Online case study

Select 2014 awards and recognition:

2014 – Received our eleventh Platinum Excellence Award for Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals
2014 - Presidents Award from the AWWA Partnership for Safe Water in recognition of successfully demonstrating the highest level of filtration performance achieved by the nation's most elite water treatment plants.
2014, 2013, 2012, 2010 - Director's Award from the American Water Works Association's Partnership for Safe Drinking Water
2014 – Eight-time winner of Award of Excellence for Exceptional Workplace Safety from the Georgia Department of Labor

SOURCE Veolia

Related Links

http://www.veolia.com