Where Your Water Comes From

April 23, 2026
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

“Water Treatment and the protection of the natural resource that provides life for our communities.  Water treatment is a complex process that involves chemical, physical, and sometimes biological treatment of source water to ensure it is fit for human consumption.  The type and extent of treatment largely depend on the source water.  The source waters for our surrounding communities are the Dan River, the Smith River and for the City of Martinsville, the City Reservoir.   The effluent from Wastewater Treatment is discharged into our rivers, sometimes upstream from raw water intakes.  It is crucial that the effluent from these facilities remains clean to ensure top quality drinking water. Many times, the effluent is much cleaner than the river itself, but this takes dedicated environmental professionals to ensure this happens.  There are many other sources of potential contamination that need to be monitored and dealt with, such as stormwater runoff from soil and industrial sites, parking lots, construction sites, agriculture and more.  As we treat water for potable use, many of these contaminants can disturb the effective and efficient treatment of our water, costing rate payers for additional treatment and monitoring.  Join us as we “dive” into the exciting world of water and wastewater treatment.”

Register in advance HERE. 

Michael Ward, PE

2011 M.S. Environmental & Water Resources Engineering – Virginia Tech

1994 B.A. Environmental Science w/ Minor in Chemistry – NC Wesleyan College

Certified NC Wastewater Grade IV Operator, NC Land Application Operator, VA Class I Wastewater Operator, VA Professional Engineer

I have worked in the environmental, water and wastewater treatment field for the past 33 years.  I have worked for the City of Rocky Mount, NC, City of Clinton, NC and the Henry County Public Service Authority.

Melinda Ward, MPA

2022 Masters of Public Administration – Liberty University

1993 BS Environmental Health – Western Carolina University

Certified VA Class II Wastewater Operator, NC Grade IV Wastewater Operator, NC Grade III Collections Operator, NC Land Application Operator, NC Grade A Surface Water Operator, NC Grade A Distribution Operator, Grade I Pretreatment Operator, and Class Wastewater Lab Analyst.

I have worked in the field of water and wastewater for the past 25 years. I have worked for the City of Rocky Mount, NC, Town of Newton Grove, NC, Town of Turkey, NC, Martinsville, VA, and the City of Eden, NC.