Pennsylvania American Water Hosts Public Officials at New $50 Million Water Treatment Plant

Pennsylvania American Water officials, along with state and local officials, participated today in a tour of the company’s newly completed $50 million water treatment plant. Located in New Beaver Borough, the new treatment facility serves approximately 18,000 people in southern Lawrence and Butler Counties and northeastern Beaver County.

“We were excited to share one of the largest investments in the company’s history with our local community partners,” said Mike Doran, president of Pennsylvania American Water. “This event was a great opportunity to share how proud we are of this new plant and congratulate our employees, who were a part of this project from the start and will operate it every day for hopefully the next 100 years.”

Construction of the new water treatment plant started in early 2017 and was completed in 2018. It replaces the Ellwood Water Treatment Plant, which was constructed in 1909 and had reached the end of its useful life span.

The 110-year-old water treatment plant had capacity and reliability limitations, while the new plant has increased production capacity, improved reliability, and provides enhanced safety for the company’s employees. The new plant increases available water capacity from 5.2 million to 8 million gallons per day and was designed to be expanded to up to 16 million gallons per day to accommodate future growth.

Doran added, “Today we said goodbye to the old plant, which provided this community with clean, safe drinking water for more than a century. Our guests saw first-hand how the new plant provides a higher quality of drinking water that will comply with, or exceed, all federal and state standards.”

The Ellwood Water Treatment Plant property will be donated to the Wild Waterways Conservancy; a nonprofit organization focused on stewardship of the Connoquenessing and Slippery Rock watersheds.

The new treatment plant is expandable and its processes scalable to meet the future demands and economic development needs of surrounding communities. The company made significant investments to upgrade local water mains and other system infrastructure to accommodate the new plant and improve reliability and service, bringing the total local project investment up to more than $80 million.

“This event was a wonderful opportunity to see this significant investment by Pennsylvania American and learn more about the infrastructure upgrades they continue make throughout the county,” said Alex McCoy, CEO of the Lawrence County Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Ongoing water infrastructure investments are critical to supporting economic growth and development in Lawrence County.”

The company and its contractors worked with local labor and suppliers, including Construction and General Laborers Union Local 964; Wampum Hardware; Blank Concrete and Supply of Ellwood City; Amerikohl; Byers Trucking; Castle Builders Supply; and The Copy Shop of New Castle.

“Pennsylvania American Water worked with local labor to create a regional asset that will improve our quality of life and public safety,” said Lawrence County Commissioner Dan Vogler. “The tour of the new facility reinforced Pennsylvania American Water’s commitment to providing a vital resource to our businesses and citizens.”

The company is hosting a community open house at the plant on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Guests will have the opportunity to learn where their drinking water comes from, see how the water is treated and tested, and talk with the company’s local management team and water quality professionals.

The free open house will offer water treatment plant tours, educational demonstrations, children’s activities, face painting and refreshments. Guests should wear sturdy, closed-toed footwear and be comfortable standing, walking and occasionally climbing stairs for approximately 30 minutes. Located at 352 Industrial Park Drive, attendees must provide valid photo identification to enter the treatment plant property, where parking will be available.

Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 2.4 million people. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,100 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 14 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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