DESTIN, Fla. (May 16, 2018)On Friday, May 4, 2018, Destin Water Users, Inc. (DWU) and Baskerville-Donovan, Inc. (BDI) celebrated the 30thAnnual DWU-BDI Barbecue at the George F. French Water Reclamation Facility in Destin.

In 1988, BDI and DWU held the first barbecue at the Sewer Plant to celebrate DWU’s Wastewater Plant of the Year Award. The event has grown throughout the years to showcase what a first-class utility and engineering firm can accomplish as partners.

Those who attended the annual barbecue included utility professionals, community leaders, vendors, contractors, local and state politicians, and industry regulators from across Northwest Florida.  It was a time where those in the community came together to celebrate the partnership and dedicated work each person has accomplished over the past 30 years.

“From day one, DWU has partnered with BDI to keep quality service to their customers a top priority,” said Fred Donovan, Sr., President and CEO of BDI. “While DWU has experienced tremendous growth, we’ve worked together to expand operations and improve efficiency, which earned several awards for “Plant of the Year.”

DWU has been working with BDI since June of 1965 when the Board retained the services of Bill Baskerville to prepare ‘as-built’ drawings of the newly constructed water distribution system, according to George French’s History of DWU.

“Our mission statement is that we live and work in a little piece of paradise, and DWU is intent on doing its part to keep it that way,” said Lockwood Wernet, General Manager of DWU. “One way we fulfill our mission statement is through strong, long-term partnerships like we have with BDI,” Wernet said.