Anne Arundel County Earns Six National Association of Counties Achievement Awards

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Awarded programs include refugee assistance, COVID data, employee training, resiliency, and stormwater management

Annapolis, MD - The National Association of Counties (NACo) has recognized Anne Arundel County with six Achievement Awards, honoring a variety of projects led by the Office of Emergency Management, Department of Health, Office of Central Services/Risk Management & Safety, and the Department of Public Works. The NACo Awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents. 

“This recognition from NACo for six different county projects demonstrates the innovative work that is happening across all of our county agencies,” said County Executive Steuart Pittman. “Each of these teams have worked hard to improve the quality of life for our residents, and I am pleased to see them receive this well-deserved national recognition.” 

In January 2022, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) received notice of approximately 200 Afghan refugees in need of assistance within Anne Arundel County. OEM collaborated with various non-profits, community groups, and other government agencies to provide language support, medical care, transportation, school system enrollment, and other forms of assistance that these individuals needed to build a life in our county. This collaboration resulted in all 200 Afghan refugees being safely resettled with adequate resources. 

“This community collaboration was an incredible success that was enabled by our emergency management response and recovery structure, and now our model is being used in neighboring jurisdictions to continue creating safe and welcoming spaces,” said OEM Director Preeti Emrick. “We are proud of how our efforts have eased the transition of these families into the United States."

In June, 2022 – as the work to keep residents safe from the COVID-19 pandemic continued to evolve – the Department of Health (DOH) partnered with the Department of Public Works to collect wastewater from the county treatment plants to provide statistical analysis of the presence of COVID-19 in the population of Anne Arundel County. This data helped DOH determine the county’s case rate, so that they could provide information to the public and make decisions in responding to the needs associated with the pandemic.

“This was a great collaboration between DOH and Public Works,” said Acting Health Officer Dr. Tonii Gedin. “These wastewater results are an important tool for DOH to use at a time when most individuals are testing for COVID at home and not reporting. It allows us to monitor the community COVID levels by the increase or decrease of SARS-Cov-2 particles in the wastewater and use these results to tailor our messaging to the community.”

The county has also focused on combating the mental toll of the pandemic on residents and county staff. The county’s Risk Management Safety Team developed “Situational Awareness in the Workplace,” a training program that provides customer-facing employees the tools to navigate and de-escalate difficult situations so they can safely perform their duties and provide residents with the services that they need. 

“We are excited to continue to develop strategies to keep employees safe. It's teamwork from all corners of the county that has allowed us to make such significant strides in safety,” shared Shannon Hojnowski, Assistant Manager, Safety & Insurance, Risk Management. 

In addition to their partnership with DOH, the Department of Public Works (DPW) received three additional awards for programs focused on renewable energy, stormwater management, and improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. 

NACO awarded their work to improve long-term water supply resiliency and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. DPW is evaluating multiple management strategies to reduce nutrients and provide enhanced water supply options to the region, including evaluating the feasibility of performing indirect potable reuse by adding advanced water treatment processes to an existing County Water Reclamation Facility). The advanced water treatment processes will further treat wastewater effluent to national drinking water and potable reuse water quality standards with the intent of performing managed aquifer recharge.

“We’ve made tremendous strides in reducing our nutrient footprint in the Chesapeake Bay, including through our innovative use of Advanced Water Treatment technology with this project,” said DPW Director Karen Henry. “Our continued foray into solar opportunities will help reduce our carbon footprint as well.” 

DPW has added a new 1.3 megawatt photovoltaic panel system at their Utility Operations Complex which includes 1,532 solar modules on existing building roofs and 1,400 solar modules on new parking lot canopies, which will provide an estimated 95% of the annual electricity demand for the facility, advancing the county’s goal of pursuing more sustainable and renewable energy production methods.

DPW’s last program was led by their Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration (BWPR). BWPR identified the Millrace stormwater management facility as an ideal candidate for a retrofit within the existing footprint. This project transformed an outdated and overwhelmed dry detention stormwater facility into a thriving wetland ecosystem with passive recreational areas for residents to enjoy. Using innovative and cost-effective techniques, the team provided stormwater management, water quality enhancement, habitat creation, and public engagement. 

“This was an ideal collaboration between the public and private sector. The community had flooding concerns and a large piece of land that was underutilized, and the county had a need to provide water quality treatment to properties developed before contemporary stormwater management regulation,” said Erik Michelsen, Deputy Director, Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration. “The final project meets these needs and beautifies the area for residents to enjoy.” 

Nationally, awards are given in 18 different categories that reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. Launched in 1970, the program is designed to recognize innovation in county government. Each nominated program is judged on its own merits and not against other applications.

“The Achievement Awards demonstrate excellence in county government and the commitment to serve our residents every day,” said NACo President Denise Winfrey. “This year’s winners represent some of the most innovative and collaborative efforts we have seen in over 50 years of presenting these awards.”

Click here for a full list of NACo Achievement Award winners, or click the links for each county program below to learn more.