INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES
Our customers count on us to provide safe, reliable water service. By continually upgrading our infrastructure, we plan to keep it that way. 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. In fact, we plan to invest more than $631 million in 2026 alone to improve our water and wastewater treatment plants and systems – proof of your water bill at work.
Over the past 10 years, Pennsylvania American Water has funded more than $4.272 billion in capital construction with expenditures expected to range from $650 to $800 million annually over the next several years. This includes improvements to treatment plants, wells, tanks, pump stations, pipes, valves, fire hydrants and metering equipment to sustain current operations while supporting resiliency for the future.
Our engineering and operations teams work closely to identify problem areas and put plans into action to upgrade our systems and infrastructure. These projects benefit our customers through enhanced service reliability, water quality and fire protection. Improving system resiliency is also a major focus to help protect plants, underground systems, and other crucial infrastructure from extreme weather events, natural hazards and malevolent threats.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Infrastructure upgrades not only serve as important investments in public health and safety. They also help support the economic health of the communities we serve. Economic impact studies show that for every $1 million invested in water infrastructure, upwards of 10 jobs are generated throughout the economy. This means that the $722 million invested by our company last year supported more than 7,220 jobs.
WHERE YOUR DOLLARS FLOW
Approximately 60 cents of every dollar paid on your monthly bill is allocated toward ongoing system improvement.
PRIORITIZING PROJECTS
With 40 water treatment plants, 29 wastewater treatment plants, 12,370 miles of water and sewer main and 321 water storage facilities, you might wonder how we decide which projects recieve priority when making improvements? Many factors contribute to the decisions on where to upgrade our systems, such as hydraulic capacity, water quality and regulatory requirements. Our Operations team reviews online maps created by Geographic Information System (GIS) experts to develop lists of proposed projects, which are then analyzed by our Engineering group. Our engineers consider other factors, such as type of pipe material, age, and history of breaks/leaks, to make informed decisions and prioritize when and where to replace aging infrastructure.
System improvement highlights for 2025 include:
- Water Mains: $267.9 million to install almost 93 miles of water main.
- Wastewater Mains: $26.6 million to install more than 16 miles of wastewater main.
- Tanks: $18.5 million to rehabilitate seven water storage tanks and build five new ones.
- Fire Hydrants and Valves: $15.7 million to install 574 fire hydrants and 2,853 valves.
- Meters: $37.2 million to upgrade meter technology, including $2.5 million to install 3,162 new meters and $34.6 million to replace 45,236 existing meters.
- Service Lines: $46.1 million to install more than 10,000 services.
- Lead: $11.6 million to replace 1,372 lead and galvanized customer service lines.