San Diego's Miramar and Otay Water Treatment Plants have earned laudatory awards from the Partnership for Safe Water, an esteemed national consortium of six organizations aimed at improving water quality across the United States. Key members of this alliance include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American Water Works Association, and the Water Research Foundation.

The Miramar Water Treatment Plant has been honored with the 10-Year President's Award for Water Treatment. Since 2013, the facility has consistently received this award. Hence, Miramar is one of merely four plants nationwide that boast of this remarkable accomplishment. The Otay Water Treatment Plant is the recipient of the Phase III 15-Year Director's Award for Water Treatment, having collected the Director's Award each year since 2008. Otay joins Miramar in being one of only four US plants to have garnered this recognition as reported by the City of San Diego.

Claiming his pride in these accomplishments, Juan Guerreiro, Director of the City's Public Utilities Department, said via Inside San Diego, "These prestigious awards recognize our commitment to producing high-quality drinking water for all San Diegans. These honors reflect the dedication and hard work of the men and women, who every day make our water system one of the best in the country."

To obtain these honors, it is required to continuously surpass regulatory expectations in the mission of supplying high-quality water to consumers. The Public Utilities Department exemplifies this principle in superbly optimizing the operation and performance of the water treatment plant and distribution system.

Miramar Water Treatment Plant has been active since 1962, serving about 500,000 residents in the northern part of the city. The plant, located adjacent to the Miramar Reservoir, supplies a daily provision of up to 144 million gallons of treated drinking water. Additionally, the facility is an integral part of the city's Pure Water program, with the aim of fulfilling nearly half of San Diego's water needs locally by 2035.

In contrast, the Otay Water Treatment Plant, established in 1914, is near the city's Lower Otay Reservoir. Meeting the drinking water requirements of an estimated 100,000 customers in the city's southern part is the plant's daily responsibility, producing 34 million gallons of treated water daily.