The public water system of the City of Cleveland, Miss. was awarded a second consecutive perfect score from the Mississippi State Department of Health during the fiscal year 2008 Public Water System Capacity Assessment. The City also received a perfect rating in the fiscal year 2007 assessment. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health Division of Water Supply, only 19 percent of the state’s water systems scored a perfect rating of 5.0 in both fiscal years 2007 and 2008.

In March of each year, the Department of Health assesses each public water system in three overall areas – technical capacity, managerial capacity and financial capacity. A grade of 1.0 (poor) to 5.0 (perfect) is given for each area assessed. A perfect overall score of 5.0 is awarded when a system is graded positively on each capacity assessment. The assessment includes reviews of daily log books, housekeeping and bookkeeping records, budget numbers and long-range plans. Also reviewed are state-mandated reporting and sampling requirements, water quality samples, security vulnerability studies, emergency response and sample site plan and accompanying reports.

The City of Cleveland water and wastewater system consists of five wells with a combined capacity of 10 million gallons per day, four storage towers and distribution system, 75 miles of water lines, the collection system and 26 lift stations. Since 1992, Severn Trent Services has been under contract to operate the city’s water system. As part of the collection and distribution system responsibilities, the company monitors and inspects the systems on a daily basis, is responsible for all repairs and modifications and monitoring and maintenance of a SCADA system.

According to Brett Moorman, public works director for the City of Cleveland, "Our public-private partnership with Severn Trent Services places a continuous high priority on the quality of water delivered to customers. The city, water system employees and company representatives set a goal each year to achieve a perfect capacity rating. The result is that the City has one of the best run water systems in the state."