Gwinnett County has the happiest water customers in the South — and the entire country, according to a newly released study.
The study from global marketing information firm J.D. Power measured satisfaction among residential customers of 88 water utilities across the country that serve at least 400,000 people. It evaluated utilities using six factors: delivery, price, conservation, billing and payment, communications, and customer service, officials said.
The utilities were evaluated on a 1,000-point scale.
Gwinnett County scored a 757 — the highest of any utility listed in the information released on J.D. Power’s website. It narrowly beat out Orlando, Florida (756) and metro Atlanta neighbor Cobb County (755) to take the South region crown.
The city of Atlanta’s score was 675 and DeKalb County’s was 642 — 28th and 30th, respectively, among the 31 Southern utilities evaluated.
The high marks for Gwinnett County are not a surprise. The county pours millions of dollars into upgrading and maintaining its systems each year, and its F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center is an international leader in wastewater treatment.
Gwinnett's efforts were cited as a benefit in Georgia's ongoing "water wars" litigation with neighboring states, and the county currently has plans to build a new $30 million "water innovation center."
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