Pennsylvania American Water’s Butler Water Treatment Plant in Summit Township received a Directors Award from the Partnership for Safer Water for 20 consecutive years of water quality excellence.

Staff at the plant, which serves about 19,000 customers in Butler County, accepted the award Tuesday.

“Safe, clean and reliable tap water is so important to our customers and our community, which is why Pennsylvania American Water holds ourselves to high standards and is a proud and long-standing member of the Partnership for Safe Water,” said Pennsylvania American Water President Mike Doran. “We’re proud of our incredible team of expert scientists, treatment plant operators and engineers that support our Butler water system. This impressive award demonstrates their dedication and commitment to protecting the health and safety of our customers over the past 20 years and beyond.”

The national award, which honors efforts to continuously optimize the water treatment plant and distribution system operation and performance, was announced by the American Water Works Association. The Butler plant has received the award for 20 consecutive years.

This year, 19 Pennsylvania American Water treatment plants around the state received recognition for maintaining the Phase III Directors Award status for 20 years. Nationally, just over 400 surface water treatment plants are part of the Partnership for Safe Water Program, a voluntary effort that is designed to increase protection against microbial contamination through treatment optimization. Those plants include the Butler/Oneida Valley Water Treatment Plant, the New Castle and Ellwood WTPs in Lawrence County, the Kittanning WTP in Armstrong County and the Indiana (Two Lick Creek) WTP in Indiana County.