For the third time in four years, Aquarion Water Company has received a Public Water System award for outstanding performance and achievement in 2016 from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for its water system that serves Hull, Hingham, and North Cohasset.

For more than two decades, MassDEP has given these awards to acknowledge water professionals whose accomplishments in delivering consistent and safe drinking water to residents are worthy of special recognition.

All of the state’s 1,735 public water systems were eligible for this award, but only a select few were chosen by the regulatory agency.

In its size category, Aquarion is one of six service providers to win the award.

The criteria used to select top performing systems include overall water quality, as well as adherence to state regulatory compliance for more than 90 contaminants. Aquarion had no water violations and performs over 100,000 water quality tests annually, including tap-water lead and copper levels, to ensure water is safe to drink.

Vice President of Operations John Walsh said Aquarion strives to deliver to its customers the highest level of service and water quality. “It’s an honor to see the commitment of our staff recognized by the state drinking water regulatory authority for being among the best in the state,” he said.