American Water services

Our systems are required to comply with federal and state regulations developed under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and other federal and state statutes. To help achieve compliance with applicable regulations and track our environmental stewardship efforts, American Water employs an Environmental Management Plan system in tandem with an internal audit program.

We maintain an industry-leading research and development program that is designed to enhance our services, help ensure compliance, and shape a more sustainable future. As part of our R&D and innovation efforts, we are working with research institutions and partners to develop and pilot new technology advances.

We are always investing in the health of our plants and pipes. In fact, each year, over the next five years we will invest approximately $13 billion that will enable us to continue to provide essential services to customers in our regulated footprint. Our investments include replacing aging infrastructure, upgrading existing or constructing new facilities, ensuring fire protection and complying with the latest water quality standards.

Continuous improvement of operational systems, ranging from more rapid and effective leak detection to enhanced metering, contributes to water conservation in important ways.

We take water quality very seriously and your safety is our number one priority. When it comes to complying with strict federal regulations for delivering safe, quality drinking water, we’ve consistently scored among the highest of all water companies. We provide our Water Quality Reports – also called Consumer Confidence Reports -- to our customers annually.

American Water is committed to providing high quality, reliable water service to our customers. Collaborative efforts to protect sources of water used as drinking water supplies are an important part of maintaining high quality water, and we are working to further these efforts in the communities we serve.

The bacteria Legionella, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, poses a minor risk for most healthy individuals. Cases of illness are likelier found in people occupying more complex plumbing systems of larger buildings rather than a single-family home or townhome. However, if your home has people living in it who may be at risk (those over 50, smokers, those with weak immune systems), or if you just want to take additional precautions, here are some ways to reduce or minimize the growth of Legionella in the plumbing of your home.

Multi-family homes include condominiums, apartments, townhouses and duplexes. These building’s plumbing pipes may be at higher risk for Legionella than single family homes due to the possibility of having larger, more complex plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Water has further to travel through these systems, so it’s much harder to keep the temperature right, and disinfectant levels adequate. The control of these systems is typically the responsibility of the landlord or a property or facility manager.  

Commercial/Industrial buildings have large more complex plumbing, heating and cooling systems with great opportunity for transmitting Legionella.  In 2015, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) created a standard for risk management in large building water systems (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015) to manage potential risks. This standard includes a Water Management Plan and general requirements for building operator and businesses. To reduce liability, many insurance companies also require businesses to maintain Water Management Plans. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015 building water safety plan consists of seven elements.