American Water Honored with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense Excellence Award

VOORHEES, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Water (NYSE: AWK), the nation’s largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility company, announced today that it is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2012 WaterSense Excellence Award winner. American Water earned the award for the company's commitment to consumer education and environmental stewardship, specifically with the celebration of its 125th anniversary in 2011.

The nationwide campaign educated consumers about the value of water in our lives, and the importance of protecting water quality and supply from source to tap. A cornerstone of campaign was a series of public service announcements (PSAs), created in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program and The Student Conservation Association (SCA), to deliver practical tips to consumers about household water conservation. The “Save Water Today” PSA campaign and website (www.SaveWaterToday.org) were designed to provide valuable information and water saving tips from WaterSense, the SCA and American Water. The PSAs ran from March through December 2011 on 84 stations in 25 markets nationwide, airing more than 15,000 times at no cost as part of the stations’ public service airtime requirements.

American Water President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sterba commented, "We are honored and grateful to be named a recipient of a WaterSense Excellence Award for the second consecutive year. It's vitally important to our country's future that water resources are used wisely, and American Water is committed to educating our customers about the value of water and the importance of water protection and efficiency. We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with the EPA's WaterSense program to help us in this effort."

American Water also collaborates annually with the EPA's "Fix a Leak Week" initiative, and additionally, institutes a series of state specific programs that includes water conservation audits, leak detection, and even the installation of water-saving fixtures, or rebates on WaterSense labeled products.

In addition to Fix a Leak Week events, American Water works with customers on an ongoing basis to educate them about WaterSense products and services and how to use water wisely both inside and outside their homes and businesses.

About WaterSense

WaterSense, a partnership program by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services.

WaterSense brings together a variety of stakeholders to:

• Promote the value of water efficiency.
• Provide consumers with easy ways to save water, as both a label for products and an information resource to help people use water more efficiently.
• Encourage innovation in manufacturing.
• Decrease water use and reduce strain on water resources and infrastructure.

The program seeks to help consumers make smart water choices that save money and maintain high environmental standards without compromising performance. Products and services that have earned the WaterSense label have been certified to be at least 20 percent more efficient without sacrificing performance.

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 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in more than 30 states and parts of Canada. More information can be found at www.amwater.com.

Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for American Water.