East Columbia Water District received two honors this year at the Louisiana Rural Water Association’s (LRWA) Annual Awards Ceremony. David Barfield was named Water System Operations Specialist of the Year (North) and the District won Distribution of Louisiana’s Best Tasting Water. Chad Wright, Lead Operator for the District, accepted the award for Distribution of Louisiana’s Best Tasting Water. The awards were presented on July 21, 2021, at LRWA’s 35^th Annual Training and Technical Conference held at the CajunDome in Lafayette, Louisiana.

David Barfield has been with the District since April of 2016 and has worked diligently to stabilize the District’s chlorine dosage and residuals. He is a valuable member of the team at East Columbia Water District committed to providing safe, high quality water services to our community, while maintaining a standard of excellence in customer service and environmental conservation.

Each year LRWA looks for the best drinking water from a Public Water System in the state to represent Louisiana’s rural water systems in a nationwide competition.  An unknown panel of judges taste the water samples and vote for the best tasting water.  As a result of winning this year, two representatives of the District will travel to Washington DC in February of 2022 to represent Louisiana in the Great American Water Taste Test.

The LRWA Awards Program was established to recognize the outstanding efforts of Rural Water and Wastewater Systems and their personnel. Of all the systems/operators/office personnel across the state, East Columbia Water District was selected this year’s winner for dedication to providing safe drinking water and/or helping maintain a cleaner environment through their efforts in the water and/or wastewater industry in the State of Louisiana.

LRWA is a non-profit organization established in 1978 to aid small water and wastewater systems through training and on-site technical assistance. Their assistance is geared toward the operation and maintenance of water and wastewater systems and to aid them in understanding the rules and regulations of said operation. For years, LRWA has been the driving force, providing water and wastewater training and technical assistance to the small towns and rural areas in all 64 Louisiana Parishes. In short, LRWA has a documented record of accomplishment in providing the highest quality training, technical assistance and informational products and services necessary for promoting public health and environmental protection.