Hillsville’s residents can get some of the state’s best water just by turning on their faucets.

The Town of Hillsville’s water plant was among 10 statewide to receive a Gold award by the Virginia Department of Health. The Gold award is the highest award given by the VDH.

Last year, Hillsville’s water plant received a Silver award.

Utilities Director Danny Webb said the award is the culmination of hard work and combined efforts by the staff.

“This is a fantastic group of people to work with,” Webb said. “Winning this award is the result of a lot of teamwork.”

In addition to Webb, the town’s water staff includes operators Joe Botsch, Bill Bobbitt and Lake Newman, operator/meter reader Richard Frazier and supervisor Darrick Mayes.

Webb noted that Hillsville’s water plant is producing a better product than plants with larger staffs and more resources.

“Our plant is outperforming the plants in the Richmond and Fairfax County area that certainly have a lot more resources than the Town of Hillsville,” Webb said.

The Virginia Department of Health’s award system rates all the water plants in the state. Water plants that win the Gold awrd receive a No. 1 rating out of the 134 water plants statewide.

Eric Herold, a representative of the Virginia Department of Health, was present at the May 12 Hillsville Town Council meeting to present the water plant staff with a certificate recognizing the achievement.

“There were seven out of 134 waterworks that got the Gold and in your case, you got a perfect score,” Herold said as he made his presentation. “You were one of three that got a perfect score.”

Hillsville Mayor Randall Gravley thanked Webb and his staff for their efforts in giving the citizens of Hillsville top-notch water.

“I’d like to congratulate you folks,” Gravley said. “You continue to do a great job for the town. We talked about it a little bit earlier that everybody doing a good job and you are the ones down there doing the work.”