Pennsylvania American Water invested $400m to upgrade water infrastructure in 2020

Pennsylvania American Water announced that it invested $400m in 2020 to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure, delivering on a capital investment plan amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pennsylvania American Water president Mike Doran said: “Our goal at Pennsylvania American Water is to provide safe, reliable, environmentally responsible water and wastewater service to the 2.4 million Pennsylvanians who rely on us.

“From source to tap and back to the source again, our team of professionals works hard to maintain and improve our facilities to keep them operating efficiently, meeting regulatory standards and delivering high-quality water and wastewater service. I am so proud of our team for achieving these results while operating under new protocols to protect the health and safety of each other and our customers during this unprecedented year.”

The firm invested around $130m to replace over 126 miles of aging water and sewer pipelines. It also invested over $3m in automated leak detection equipment to boost its ability to locate and repair leaks. Due to this technology, the company found and repaired 369 non-surfacing leaks.

Pennsylvania American Water invested over $46m for improvements to its water and wastewater treatment facilities across the US state.

Among the major projects included treatment upgrades at its Butler, Hershey, New Castle, Norristown, Silver Spring, Stony Garden, West Shore, and Yardley water treatment plants besides treatment and capacity upgrades at the Scranton wastewater treatment plant.

The firm replaced over 1,600 fire hydrants and 1,300 valves with an approximately $9.5m investment, along with around 16,000 service lines totaling around $20m.

Pennsylvania American Water rehabilitated five water tanks and one treatment unit besides carrying out detailed inspections on more than 75 tanks.