At their regular meeting on March 3, the Union County Board of Commissioners recognized Union County Water for receiving the top statewide awards for safety from NC One Water, the North Carolina section of the American Water Works Association. The Walter J. Courmon Safety Award and the George W. Burke, Jr. Safety Award are NC One Water’s top prizes for performance in active and effective safety programs. These awards recognize facilities and collection systems that have maintained an outstanding safety record in the previous calendar year, including consistent collection and reporting of injury data. Union County Water is the proud recipient of both awards for 2024.

“Union County Water has been a leader in workplace safety for years,” said Hyong Yi, Water Administrator. “As evidenced by this statewide recognition, our management team and our safety program are committed to ensuring that every employee returns home safely at the end of every workday.” 

Every employee at Union County Water receives initial position-specific training, safety equipment, and ongoing certifications for all risks associated with their work. Union County Water’s safety program meets the training needs of more than 180 employees and manages 185 safety certifications. Additionally, the organization has well-established emergency action plans, reporting systems, incident investigation protocols, job site inspections and risk assessment programs, and policies to ensure quick and effective responses to incidents, protecting the utility’s ability to serve more than 60,000 families, schools, farms, businesses, and industries across our service area. 

Would you like to join an award-winning team that makes workplace safety our top priority? Learn more about our workplace culture and explore current job opportunities on our Careers page. 

Melissa Merrell, Chairperson of the Union County Board of Commissioners,
presents NC One Water's top two statewide awards for workplace safety to Union County Water. 

Pictured from left to right: Chris Clark, P.E., Union County Water Operations Director; Julian Coley, interim Union County Water Safety Program Manager; Michael Farrar, Union County Risk and Safety Program Manager (former Safety Program Manager for Union County Water); Hyong Yi, Union County Water Administrator, and Melissa Merrell, Chairperson of the Union County Board of Commissioners. 
Not pictured: Hayden Hunter, Union County Water Safety Officer