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Aqua America to Spend $450 Million on Critical Water Infrastructure Upgrades in 2017

WTRG | May 16, 2017

Aqua America to Spend $450 Million on Critical Water Infrastructure Upgrades in 2017

During Infrastructure Week, water and wastewater utility highlights significant investment in upgrading its systems

Aqua America (Aqua) is recognizing Infrastructure Week, May 15-19, 2017, to help raise awareness about the significant need for investment in the United States’ water infrastructure. With plans to invest $450 million in 2017, Aqua will help rebuild and replace water infrastructure in the communities it serves. Projects are planned across all eight of Aqua’s states to ensure clean and safe water reaches each customer.

Between 2012 and 2016, Aqua invested $1.5 billion in infrastructure renewal, including replacement of more than 700 miles of water mains. According to the American Water Works Association, an estimated $1 trillion is needed nationwide to maintain and expand drinking water service over the next 25 years.

“As a leading water utility, our number one priority is delivering safe, reliable drinking water to our customers,” said Bill Ross, senior vice president, engineering and environmental affairs. “Infrastructure Week provides a great opportunity to increase awareness about the efforts Aqua makes to replace aging infrastructure, enabling us to provide quality water and reliable service.”

The 2017 American Society for Civil Engineers Infrastructure Report Card ranked the United States’ drinking water and wastewater infrastructure “D” and “D+” and illustrates the following challenges:

Drinking water is delivered via one million miles of pipes across the country, but many of those pipes are approaching 100 years in age
There are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States, wasting more than two trillion gallons of treated drinking water
It is estimated that leaky, aging pipes waste 14 to 18 percent of each day’s treated water, which could support 15 million households

Aqua’s 2017 infrastructure investment plan includes replacing 150 miles of water mains across eight states, helping to save billions of gallons of water leaking from pipes and water mains.

“Aqua employees understand the challenges facing the nation over the next few decades, and we work every day to do our part to help revitalize the nation’s infrastructure,” said Ross. “Aqua is constantly repairing and replacing old, outdated facilities, water mains, water and wastewater plants, and well stations. Our intent is to continue this commitment well into the future.”

Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded water utilities and serves nearly 3 million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information, or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.

WTRG