West Virginia American Water’s Reports on Water Quality Available Online

West Virginia American Water announced today that the company’s 2012 Consumer Confidence Reports on water quality will be available online to customers this spring and will not be printed and mailed to all customers as in previous years. Messages included on upcoming water bills will provide customers with a direct URL address to access their specific water quality report. The reports can also be found online at www.westvirginiaamwater.com.

In January 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that water utilities had the option to inform customers of the annual report’s availability at a specific website address as opposed to printing and either direct mailing or including the annual report as a bill insert. West Virginia American Water acted swiftly to take advantage of this more efficient and environmentally friendly option for delivering reports on its 2012 water quality information.

According to EPA data, 4,243 drinking water Notices of Violation (NOVs) were issued throughout the state of West Virginia last year. Almost 300 drinking water systems received at least one NOV. West Virginia American Water – which serves one-third of the state’s population – received only one, which was due to a reporting failure for a water sample within a specific quarter in one district. If West Virginia American Water operated like the average drinking water system in West Virginia, it would have received the equivalent of 127 NOVs in 2012. Company-wide, American Water reported drinking water and wastewater compliance rates greater than 99 percent in 2012.

“The fact that West Virginia American Water performed 127 times better than the average drinking water system in the state last year is a testament to the dedication of our team of water quality and plant operations professionals who work hard each and every day to ensure the highest quality water and service to our customers,” said Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water.

This new delivery method of annual water quality reports supports the water industry’s commitment to ongoing environmental quality and does not minimize the importance of the annual report to customers, according to McIntyre. “Our customers will find in these reports that the water we produce is of higher quality than required by all state and federal drinking water standards,” he said.

The annual water quality report, or consumer confidence report, is a performance measure of the quality of water supplied by West Virginia American Water against the compliance standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia Bureau for Public Health. The report describes local drinking water sources, testing conducted on the water, substances detected and the levels of those substances. Commonly asked questions and answers concerning local drinking water are also included in the report.

Reports from all of the company’s own water treatment plant systems are currently available online. Reports from the company’s purchased water systems will be posted online as soon as the information is available from the supplier systems. Printed copies of the report will be available to customers who cannot or do not wish to access it online. Customers can call the company’s customer service center toll-free at 1-800-685-8660 and request that a copy of their local district’s report be mailed to them.

West Virginia American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately 600,000 people. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs approximately 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 14 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.westvirginiaamwater.com .

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