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Aqua America

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hile serving in the US Navy, I was stationed in the Philippines and was appalled to see the squalid conditions in which some people lived, with raw sewage polluting their rivers and streams and affecting their drinking water supply, and the government unable or unwilling to do anything about it. The Navy base at Subic Bay had clean drinking water, but if you left the base to explore the outlying islands and countryside, you were advised not to drink the water due to the real possibility of nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, dizziness, and in extreme cases, even death.

The US too has had its well-documented share of contaminated water, with people becoming sick after drinking water containing bacteria and swimming in contaminated lakes, resulting in dire warnings and closed beaches. There are companies, however, that are dedicated to providing their customers with the best available water supply, working to eliminate these problems on a daily basis.

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based Aqua America is a leading provider of water and wastewater treatment services in 14 states with over three million customers. It can trace its beginnings back to 1886 when a group of Swarthmore College professors founded the Springfield Water Company in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, primarily for the purpose of tapping into a nearby spring water supply to provide local residents with naturally filtered, clean drinking water, giving them the opportunity to abandon their wells for a more healthful water supply. Almost 40 years later in 1925, Springfield Water Company grew into a large utility serving the residents of 58 municipalities located in three counties, and the company’s name was changed by a vote of its shareholders to Philadelphia Suburban Water Company (PSW).

By 1968 the board of directors voted to establish a holding company, the Philadelphia Suburban Corporation (PSC), and in July 1971 it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

By the 1980s PSW began to implement a strategy of growth through acquisition—formulated on and stemming from its purchase of three Chester County water systems—resulting from stagnant growth in some of its municipalities. Growth through acquisition was so successful that by 1998 PSW acquired 27 more water systems,

adding more than 50,000 customers to its growing list. In 1996 the company made a foray into wastewater treatment systems by purchasing a facility in Chester County, and then another in Bucks County the following year.

The company changed names again in 2004 to Aqua America, with the 2003 purchase of AquaSource, a water and wastewater treatment utility that served over 400,000 customers in Florida, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana and Missouri. Subsequent purchases of utilities and water services companies in North Carolina and Florida in 2004 resulted in almost 200,000 additional customers.

Aqua America is constantly reviewing and implementing ways to provide high-quality water for its customers. When water is collected and stored in naturally occurring reservoirs through the force of nature (raw water), it has a tendency to clarify and purify through the actions of oxygen, sunlight and other natural agents. As a result, foreign matter and bacteria are for the most part removed naturally. The company then pumps the water through low-lift pumps (centrifugal pumps that direct water from the raw water source to underground flocculation and settling basins) into its treatment plants where it is treated with chlorine to kill any remaining harmful microorganisms. A coagulant is added (usually liquid alum) that forms a thick, gelatinous substance known as floc (a fine, fluffy mass formed by the aggregation of suspended particles), which acts as a magnet to trap and suspend any impurities in the water.

In addition to the coagulant, finely powdered carbon may also be added to remove any unpleasant odors and taste that may occur

Aqua America

Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Company American made—green manufacturing For over 150 years, Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Company, a subsidiary of McWane Inc., has been dedicated to producing quality water and waste water transfer products, maintaining environmental and public health standards for our nation’s water infrastructure. Providing ductile iron pipes, flanged pipes, restrained joint and specialty pipes; along with the valves, hydrants, fittings, and accessories available from additional McWane Inc. owned and operated entities, Atlantic States is a key contributor to infrastructure revitalization both domestically and internationally.

As a LEED certified manufacturer creating new products from nearly 100 percent recycled materials, Atlantic States is charting new courses in environmental stewardship every day. Our state of the art emissions control systems have been lauded on both the State and Federal levels as a breakthrough in responsible and green manufacturing. Our storm water runoff capture and reuse programs supplement this commitment to a better world.

Following the beliefs of our founder, J.R. McWane, Atlantic States honors our heritage by manufacturing products which are lasting and sustainable. We invest significantly in the future of our business, our employees, and our communities. We commit to excellence, integrity, service and quality. We strive to adhere to the highest standards of workplace safety and environmental leadership based in responsibility. As a participating member in numerous precedent setting optional programs, both with safety organizations such as OSHA and energy supply companies; our voluntary activities and the decisions guided by such lead to substantial energy savings to the company and superior workplace safety for all. Implementing lessons of the past improves and protects everyone’s future.

Recent expansion by Atlantic States into supplying domestic waterworks products internationally to places such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Africa extends our environmental leadership around the globe.

Atlantic States’ vendor relationship with AQUA America Inc. expands these goals and philosophies to new and greater heights. Working with and learning from a renowned company such as AQUA, Atlantic States accepts the challenge their stringent requirements demand, and looks forward to growing stronger and cleaner as a result throughout the years ahead.

through the decay of organic materials. It may be required in this process to add ammonia to the water, which acts in combination with the chlorine to assist the carbon in reducing further unpleasant tastes or odors. The pre-treated water is then flowed through flash mixers—which are tanks that agitate the water, causing the flocculation to form into a mass heavy with impurities—and then reaches a sedimentation basin and sinks to the bottom. The water is introduced to a series of filters to remove any particles or impurities that are not removed in the sedimentation basin.

The water slowly seeps through filters composed of anthracite coal, sand and gravel contained in large cement boxes. A small amount of chlorine disinfectant, lime and corrosion inhibitor are added to the water as it flows through the distribution

system, where it is lifted through high-lift pumps (pumps that discharge treated water into arterial mains) into distribution piping and finally to a home or business.

Aqua America employs over 1,600 people and has grown through more than 130 water and wastewater treatment acquisitions since the 1990s, and it is poised to expand even further due to the installation of solar energy in selected plants that have been weaning the company off the costly traditional sources of energy for plant operations.

With the availability of US government tax credits and depreciation deductions, Aqua America is thriving, with the goal being to continue providing the best water and waste treatment services to an even wider cross-section of the American public at the lowest cost possible. www.aquaamerica.com

AQUAAMERICA www.aquaamerica.com