Aqua Wins Award for Infrastructure Investment Program
BRYN MAWR, Pa., Oct 24, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. (Aqua), Aqua America, Inc.'s (NYSE:WTR) largest subsidiary, received the prestigious Management and Innovation Award from the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) during the organization's 2008 Annual Session in New Mexico. This award recognizes the development and implementation of an infrastructure system that has benefited the company, its customers or the water utility industry as a whole.
Aqua's winning submittal included two information management systems that help the utility prioritize its quarter-billion dollar annual infrastructure program--which has more than doubled in Pennsylvania and nearly tripled company-wide in the last 10 years--to rebuild its distribution (piping) system and upgrade its water treatment systems. AIMS (Asset Information Management System), a Web-based system that employees use as "one-stop-shopping" for information related to the company's water distribution system and a GIS (Geographic Information System) that allows users to visually retrieve and display much of the same information using a map-based system. Both initiatives were designed to meet the company's need to develop a more formalized and efficient approach to prioritizing infrastructure projects.
Aqua America's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas DeBenedictis accepted the award for the company. "I am honored and proud to accept this award on behalf of Aqua's employees who have, once again, displayed their leadership in the water industry," said DeBenedictis. "This award recognizes Aqua's tradition of technical and engineering expertise as well as its 120-year legacy of building and maintaining strong, reliable water systems that our customers can depend on," said DeBenedictis.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than $270 billion needs to be invested in our nation's infrastructure in the next 20 years. Aqua is one of the industry leaders in proactive infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement. In fact, Aqua has spent nearly $260 million in the last 10 years to improve its infrastructure. "This award acknowledges our continued infrastructure replacement program and underscores how efficiently we are able to execute our capital program," added DeBenedictis.
Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. is the largest operating subsidiary of Aqua America, Inc. and serves approximately 1.4 million people throughout Pennsylvania. Aqua America is a large publicly traded water and wastewater utility holding company with operating subsidiaries serving approximately three million people in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Maine, Missouri and South Carolina. Aqua America, Inc. is listed on both the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol WTR.
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SOURCE: Aqua America, Inc.
Aqua America, Inc. Donna Alston Director, Communications 610-645-1095 dpalston@aquaamerica.com or Reggie Bullock Communications Specialist 610-520-6342 robullock@aquaamerica.com
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