TCEQ Honors Arlington Water Utilities as Top Public Drinking System
Published on August 27, 2025
By Traci Peterson, Arlington Water Utilities
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently recognized the City of Arlington for its “overall excellence in all aspects of operating a public water system” and going “above and beyond the minimum standards in protecting public health and ensuring reliable operation.”
Arlington Water Utilities, the department responsible for the City’s water and wastewater system, received two prestigious awards at the TCEQ’s Public Drinking Water Conference in July. Those were the Outstanding Public Drinking Water System Award and the Outstanding Cross Connection Control Program Award. The TCEQ is the state regulatory agency for water and wastewater providers.
Arlington was one of just two public water systems out of 7,000 public water systems in Texas to earn the Outstanding Public Drinking Water System Award this year. It was the sole recipient of the Cross Connection Control Program Award this year – a testament to the department’s commitment to public health and water safety.
“This award shows the residents of Arlington that their water utility is one of the best in the state of Texas. Our employees are well-trained and respected in their fields. They work hard each day to provide the essential services that help make Arlington the American Dream City,” said Alex Whiteway, Arlington Water Utilities director.
The extensive application for the Outstanding Public Drinking Water System honor requires the utility to show it
- exceeds capacity requirements for water production, storage, and system pressure maintenance,
- promotes year-round water conservation and source water protection,
- rigorously enforces and tracks backflow prevention regulations to protect the health of the community,
- and has had no primary drinking water regulatory violations in the past 3 years.
Arlington Water Utilities manages and plans for the future of more than $6 billion in critical infrastructure, as well as more than 3,000 miles of underground pipes, two state-of-the art water treatment plants, and ten elevated storage tanks. To learn more about the department, visit ArlingtonTX.gov/water.