Businessweek

American Water Works Company, Inc. operates as a water and wastewater utility company in the United States. The company provides approximately 15 million people with drinking water, wastewater and other water-related services in 30 states and 2 Canadian provinces. Segments The company’s segments include Regulated Businesses and the Market-Based Operations. Regulated Businesses The company’s Regulated Businesses consist of locally managed utility subsidiaries that generally are economically regulated by the states in which they operate. In 2011, the company acquired 11 regulated water systems and 48 wastewater systems in Missouri. It added approximately 1,700 water customers and 2,000 wastewater customers. The Texas assets served approximately 4,200 water and 1,100 wastewater customers in the greater Houston metropolitan area. In January 2011, the company announced that the company had entered into an agreement with EPCOR Water (USA) Inc. (EPCOR USA) to sell all the stock of its regulated water and wastewater operating companies located in Arizona and New Mexico. The sale of these operating companies was completed on January 31, 2012. In July 2011, the company entered into an agreement to purchase seven regulated water systems in New York, adding approximately 50,000 customers to its New York regulated operations. Ohio American Water serves approximately 58,000 customers. Networks, Facilities and Water Supply: The company’s Regulated Businesses operate in approximately 1,100 communities in 16 states in the United States. The company’s primary operating assets include approximately 80 surface water treatment plants, 500 groundwater treatment plants, 1,000 groundwater wells, 100 wastewater treatment facilities, 1,100 treated water storage facilities, 1,200 pumping stations and 90 dams and 46,000 miles of mains and collection pipes. Customers: The company serves commercial customers, such as shops and businesses; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturing and production operations; and public authorities, such as government buildings and other public sector facilities, including schools. The company also supplies water to public fire hydrants for firefighting purposes, to private fire customers for use in fire suppression systems in office buildings and other facilities, as well as providing bulk water supplies to other water utilities for distribution to their own customers. Market-Based Operations Contract Operations Group: The company’s Contract Operations Group enters into public/private partnerships, including O&M and Design, Build and Operate (DBO) contracts for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities for the United States military, municipalities, the food and beverage industry and other customers. In December 2011, the company sold its Applied Water Management, Inc. group (AWM). AWM provided customized water and wastewater management solutions through contract operations with real estate developers, industrial clients, and small-to-midsized communities. The company is party to approximately 100 contracts, varying in size and scope, across the United States and Canada, with contracts ranging in term from 2 to 50 years. Included in the these contracts are nine 50-year contracts with the Department of Defense for the operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater systems and one 3-year sub-contract with a municipality, acting as primary contractor with the Department of Defense, for similar services on an interim basis until construction of new connections to an existing municipal facility are completed. Homeowner Services Group: The company’s Homeowner Services Group, through its Service Line Protection Program, provides services to domestic homeowners and smaller commercial establishments to protect against the cost of repairing broken or leaking water pipes and clogged or blocked sewer pipes inside and outside their accommodations. The company’s LineSaver program involves partnering with municipalities to offer its protection programs to homeowners serviced by the municipalities. The company’s Homeowner Services Group has approximately 900,000 customer contracts in 17 states. Terratec Environmental Ltd: The company’s Market-Based Operations also includes its biosolids management group, Terratec, which is located in Canada and provides environmentally sustainable management and disposal of biosolids and wastewater by-products. Competition: The company faces competition in its Market-Based Operations from providers, including Veolia Environnement, American States, OMI and Southwest Water, particularly in the area of O&M contracting. Support Services The American Water Works Service Company subsidiary provides shared services to its Regulated Businesses. These services include accounting, administration, business development, corporate secretarial, education and training, engineering, financial, health and safety, human resources, information systems, legal, operations, procurement, rates, security, risk management, water quality and research and development. The company also operates two national customer service centers, which are located in Alton, Illinois and Pensacola, Florida. The company’s security department provides oversight and governance of physical and information security throughout its operations and is responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring and supporting active and effective physical and information security controls. Significant Events In July 2012, American Water Works Company, Inc. announced that it received a grant from the Water Research Foundation to conduct a joint research project with Utah State University to measure the frequency of backflow through residential water meters. History American Water Works Company, Inc. was founded in 1886.