BWSC is proud to have been recognized for excellence in finance, engineering, and the environment. Some of our most recent awards include:
2023 Customer Satisfaction Award by J.D. Power

BWSC is proud to have won for the third time in recent years the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Award competing against water utilities of a comparable size in the Northeast U.S. The J.D. Power award is based on six factors: quality and reliability; price; conservation; billing and payment; communications; and customer service. Not surprisingly, over the years BWSC has been singled out for awards in many of the same areas J.D. Power uses for its rankings. Among those awards are honors for tap water quality, environmental stewardship and education, strong management and organizational innovation, public emergency responsiveness and more. Here's a specific, detailed list here
2022 ACEDON Award

BWSC was honored to receive an award from African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDON) for BWSC’s contributions supporting ACEDON over the past two decades. The BWSC award title says it all: Outstanding Contributions in Advancing Diversity, Inclusion and the Promotion of Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise. Based in Roxbury, ACEDON has a core mission of supporting African refugees and other immigrants to become vital, contributing members of the Boston community. ACEDON provides educational and life experiences to help immigrants thrive socially, professionally and economically.
2022 Customer Satisfaction Award by J.D. Power

BWSC is proud to have won for the second time in recent years the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Award competing against water utilities of a comparable size in the Northeast U.S. The J.D. Power award is based on six factors: quality and reliability; price; conservation; billing and payment; communications; and customer service. Not surprisingly, over the years BWSC has been singled out for awards in many of the same areas J.D. Power uses for its rankings. Among those awards are honors for tap water quality, environmental stewardship and education, strong management and organizational innovation, public emergency responsiveness and more. Here's a specific, detailed list here
2021 NEWEA's Youth Educator’s Award

Adriana Cillo our Educational Programs Coordinator, the 2021 recipient of the New England Water Environment Association’s Youth Educator’s Award. This award is to recognize and honor a formal or informal New England educator who has a passion for water quality issues, water conservation, wastewater treatment, and/or other topics critical to the protection of our water resources and through their work educates and inspires today’s youth to hold similar values pertaining to our water environment.
2019 Public Water System Awards
BWSC has once again received honors for Outstanding Performance and Achievement in its Category from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). With the 2019 Public Water System Award, BWSC has now been recognized by the MassDEP for drinking water excellence nine of the last ten years.
2018 Customer Satisfaction Award by J.D. Power

BWSC was ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the Northeast by J.D. Power in their 2018 Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. BWSC tied its first-place ranking with Monroe County Water Authority in Rochester New York.
The study measures satisfaction among residential customers of 88 water utilities, delivering water to a population of at least 400,000 people and is reported in four geographic regions: Midwest, Northeast, South and West. Overall satisfaction is measured by examining attributes within six factors (listed in order of importance): delivery; price; conservation; billing and payment; communications; and customer service.
2018 Public Water System Awards

BWSC received two awards from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) at the 2018 Public Water System Awards celebration held May 8, 2018 at the Massachusetts State House. The ceremony is held annually during National Drinking Water Week.
BWSC received honors for Outstanding Performance in 2017 for drinking water and the Systems Taking Action to Reduce Lead (STAR L) award. BWSC has been recognized by the MassDEP for drinking water excellence for eight of the last nine years, and achieved one of the MassDEP's top scores in the Consecutive System category for 2018. The STAR L award acknowledges BWSC's collaboration with Boston Public Schools and their efforts within the community to protect children from the dangers of lead.
2018 National Environmental Achievement Award
BWSC has been selected as winner of the 2018 National Environmental Achievement Award (NEAA) in the Operations & Environmental Performance category, conferred by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. Specifically, BWSC was honored for completing a first-of-its-kind study utilizing DNA markers to identify human and non-human fecal sources in urban stormwater. The cutting-edge use of DNA markers helps pinpoint sources of bacterial contaminants in stormwater runoff - e.g., leaking sewer lines, combined sewer overflows, wildlife and pet waste - and guides the implementation of corrective actions.
2017 New England's "Best Drinking Water Taste Test" Winner

BWSC won the 8th annual "New England's Best Drinking Water Taste Test" competition at the 2017 New England Water Works Association annual conference held in September. Boston's drinking water, which comes from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, has won numerous awards for its excellent quality and taste. This year, Boston's drinking water competed against ten other samples from New England. The win makes Boston eligible to compete against other cities from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico at the American Water Works Association's (AWWA) annual conference in Spring 2018.
In 2014, BWSC won "Best of the Best" national honors from the highly publicized Tap Water Taste contest held by the AWWA.
2017 Shattuck Chairman's Award
Henry F. Vitale, executive director/treasurer of BWSC, received the 2017 Shattuck Chairman's Award. This honor is conferred upon a City department head demonstrating leadership and exceptional dedication to Boston. While Shattuck Awards are given to a select number of outstanding city of Boston employees annually, Mr. Vitale is the first department head to be honored in 12 years. Shattuck Awards are granted by the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, an independent, non-partisan agency dedicated to promoting effective public policy. According to Bureau President Samuel Tyler, Shattuck award recipients not only do their job but also "do it exceptionally well." Under Mr. Vitale's tenure as executive director, the Commission has received numerous awards, including national recognition of "Best of the Best" tap water in 2014 by the American Water Works Association, the 2016 "Regional Recognition Award" and the "Citation for Consistent Service" from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
2017 Boston Fire Department Commissioner's Citation

Two long-time employees of BWSC were awarded the Outstanding Civilian Service Award by the Boston Fire Department. On October 21, 2016, BWSC employees Billy O'Brien of South Boston and John Greeley of Hyde Park had just finished work on a different job when they got word there was an emergency on Dartmouth Street in Boston's South End. Alongside Boston Fire and EMS, they worked for hours to respectfully assist in the recovery of two workers trapped in a trench, which had collapsed and filled with water during construction work by a private contractor. Additional BWSC employees also rushed to assist at the scene. All BWSC operations personnel on scene at Dartmouth Street were awarded a Commissioners Citation by Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn for their dedication and service.
2018 National Association of Clean Water Agencies Excellence in Management Gold Recognition Award

National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) recognized BWSC for its strong record of effective utility management by awarding BWSC the Gold Award for Utility Excellence. The Gold Awards criteria are based on the Ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Water Sector Utilities and the Keys to Management Success, which were developed by a blue-ribbon committee of water industry executives at the request of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
NACWA has been the nation's recognized leader in legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy on the full spectrum of clean water issues, as well as a top technical resource for water management, sustainability and ecosystem protection interests.
2017 Water Environment Federation Gold Award for Innovation and Project Management
Boston Water and Sewer Commission was awarded "Gold Level Recognition in Innovation and Project Management- Phase 1" from the Water Environment Federation (WEF) in October 2017. The recognition is part of the "National Municipal Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Awards Program". These awards celebrate administrators of municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) that perform beyond regulatory requirements. The award recognizes BWSC for innovation and program management, and for demonstrating a significant achievement in design, operation, maintenance and process change, which results in long term water quality improvements.
2016 Public Water System Awards
The Department of Environmental Protection Drinking Water Programs presented two awards to BWSC this year. The 2016 Regional Recognition Award for outstanding performance and achievements in 2015 recognized BWSC as a model public water agency that puts forth exemplary efforts in every area of water treatment and distribution including the Lead Service Replacement Program. BWSC also received special recognition by MassDEP with its award of The 2016 Citation for Consistent Performance for continued excellence in delivering safe drinking water in 2015. BWSC was proud to accept this award to celebrate the consistent success in providing safe drinking water to the City of Boston.
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, an organization of the largest publicly owned drinking water suppliers in the United States, awarded BWSC its 2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence. The award recognized BWSC for outstanding achievement in implementing the national standard of Effective Utility Management. BWSC's asset management approach and active leak detection and flushing program dramatically reduced water pipe failures and produced a drop in unbilled water from 48 percent to 14 percent. Installation of automatic meter readers increased customer satisfaction and allowed for billing based on actual usage.
2015 Public Water System Award
The Department of Environmental Protection Drinking Water Programs awarded BWSC its 2015 Public Water System Award for outstanding performance as a consecutive community system for excellent compliance efforts with regulations to protect and supply safe drinking water to Boston. BWSC has received this award 6 times between 2009 and 2015 and also special recognition by MassDEP in 2015 for winning the national "Best of the Best" Tap Water Taste Award.
2015 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
For 23 consecutive years, BWSC has received the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its Current Expense Budget documents. This is the highest form of recognition in government budgeting and recognizes that BWSC's Current Expense Budget met the GFOA program criteria as a policy document, an operation guide, a financial plan and a communications device.
2015 Governor’s Citation
BWSC was presented with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor’s Citation in recognition of dedicated service to maintaining a safe and abundant supply of clean water and a commitment to protecting the environment.
2014 “Best of the Best” Tap Water Taste Award
Boston wins the American Water Works Association tenth annual “Best of the Best” national tap water tasting contest. The contest included 31 entrants from water utilities across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and was judged by a panel of industry experts. The Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs to Boston’s west are the sources of Boston’s largely pristine water.
2014 New England Water Works Association’s Young Professional Employer Support Award
New England Water Works Association (NEWWA) recognized BWSC for its significant effort in supporting the involvement of young professional members under the age of 35, in both the Association and the waterworks profession. The award recognized BWSC and its young professionals for actively participating in NEWWA’s committees, programs, and presentations.
2014 New England Water Works Association’s Utility Service Award
BWSC was presented with the Utility Service Award by the New England Water Works Association (NEWWA) for outstanding service through leadership and active participation in NEWWA programs. This honor is in recognition of BWSC’s commitment to providing financial, in-kind and volunteer resources in an effort to advance public health, safety and welfare.