Dayton continues to be recognized for innovative and sustainable management of water resources. The Department of Water's Environmental Management Division has earned the national Groundwater Protection Project Award for the Multi-Jurisdictional Source Water Protection Program (SWPP).

The SWPP is a unique, collaborative partnership by Dayton, Harrison Township, Vandalia, Riverside, Huber Heights and Public Health-Dayton and Montgomery County that was founded in 1988 to protect the region's vital public water source, the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer. The SWPP helps local communities and businesses responsibly protect the aquifer through technical information and education, land use and zoning controls, inspections and chemical inventories, and more.

Environmental Division staff members accepted the award presented by the National Groundwater Association in December.