Alan Fortenberry Receives National Award

Alan D. Fortenberry P.E., CEO, of Beaver Water District, received the prestigious George Warren Fuller Memorial Award from the American Water Works Association (AWWA) today in Atlanta, during the Annual Conference and Exposition of the AWWA. The Fuller awards, established in 1937, recognize members of AWWA for their distinguished service in the water supply field. The awards commemorate the sound engineering skill, the brilliant diplomatic talent, and the constructive leadership which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller, one of America’s most eminent engineers.

Mr. Fortenberry, a resident of Springdale, is Chief Executive Officer of Beaver Water District, which supplies drinking water to more than 250,000 people and industries in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and surrounding areas. He joined Beaver Water District in 1991 as Plant Engineer, and in 2001, he was named CEO. His major accomplishments as CEO include the expansion of the District’s facilities by 60 million gallons a day to 100 MGD, the completion of an award-winning new water intake on Beaver Lake, and a new solids handling facility with centrifuges, at a total cost of about $98 million. In addition, Mr. Fortenberry is responsible for all the activities at the District, including the demolition and renovation of the original Joe M. Steele plant, which will add another 40 MGD of capacity to the plant in 2009, and the construction of a new administration building being built in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, a green building rating system. Educational components of the building will include a drinking water plant model, a wall-sized map of the Beaver Lake Watershed, native plantings, and bioswales. He also has led efforts with various partners, including the Northwest Arkansas Council, to protect Beaver Lake water quality and the Beaver Lake watershed through increased research, monitoring and education activities, while at the same time developing strategies to plan for Northwest Arkansas’ future water demands through the year 2050.

Beaver Water District’ s mission is to serve our customers in the Benton and Washington County area by providing high quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all federal and state regulatory requirements in such quantities as meets their demands and is economically priced consistent with our quality standards. For more information, visit www.bwdh2o.org.