West Virginia American Water Participates in Source Water Protection Week
West Virginia American Water (AWK) is participating in Source Water Protection Week by highlighting its drinking-water protection efforts and guidance for residents.
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West Virginia American Water (AWK) is participating in Source Water Protection Week by highlighting its drinking-water protection efforts and guidance for residents. The week runs from September 27 to October 3. The company’s efforts include algae monitoring, emergency-response coordination and an ongoing pilot evaluating water-quality monitoring equipment upstream of its Elk River drinking-water intake. It encourages residents to limit runoff pollution and use collection sites for pharmaceuticals and hazardous waste.
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"Protecting our source water is the first step in providing safe, clean, reliable drinking water," said Scott Wyman, West Virginia American Water President. "Keeping our rivers, lakes and groundwater free from pollution reduces potential risks that could negatively impact the water supply and keeps treatment costs down."
American Water's Source Water Protection Program provides a structured framework for assessing risks, engaging stakeholders and implementing proactive measures to safeguard drinking water supplies.
The company's source water protection efforts include:
- Algae Monitoring with FlowCam: Our algae monitoring program uses FlowCam flow-imaging technology to rapidly capture and analyze high-resolution images of algae and cyanobacteria in source-water samples. This capability supports earlier identification of changing biological conditions, improves organism classification and enumeration, and informs timely source-water and treatment decisions.
- Active Emergency Management Involvement: We actively coordinate with emergency-management agencies and response partners to strengthen spill notification, information sharing, sampling readiness, and incident-response procedures. This involvement helps support a coordinated, timely response to events that could affect drinking-water sources.
- ORSANCO Participation: Our involvement with the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission supports interstate coordination on source-water protection, water-quality monitoring, harmful algal blooms, organics detection, and spill response throughout the Ohio River Basin.
- West Virginia Forestry and EPA Drinking-Water Collaboration: We engage with
West Virginia forestry partners and theU.S . Environmental Protection Agency on the connection between healthy forested watersheds and reliable drinking-water sources, helping advance partnership-based source-water protection, watershed stewardship, and long-term risk reduction. - Elk River Upstream Monitoring Pilot: Our ongoing pilot program is evaluating upstream monitoring equipment along the Elk River to provide awareness of water-quality changes at locations above our drinking-water intake. The pilot is intended to assess equipment performance, establish baseline and seasonal conditions, and strengthen operational response capabilities.
Read more about how the company strengthens operational readiness, uses technology to stay ahead of water quality challenges, builds stronger communities through partnership and prepares for emerging issues through recent case studies in states across our service areas here.
"Source water protection is a year-round effort that requires community collaboration," said Nicholas Kevey, West Virginia American Water Source Water Protection Program Manager. "We all play a role in protecting and improving drinking water sources."
During Source Water Protection Week, West Virginia American Water is encouraging individuals to take the following actions and incorporate them into their year-round practices:
- Plant landscaping around homes or businesses with more permeable surfaces, such as mulch, that allow water to soak into the ground.
- Do not over-apply chemicals to plants and avoid application immediately before it rains.
- Keep litter, pet waste and yard waste out of streets and storm drains. Pet waste contains bacteria that can find its way into waterways through runoff.
- Select non-toxic or less toxic alternatives to typical household products, such as cleaning agents.
- Dispose of pharmaceuticals by taking them to collection sites, where available. Don't flush them down the toilet!
- Use hazardous waste collection sites and services to dispose of items such as chemicals, paints, motor oil and batteries. Report any hazardous material spills, illegal dumping or suspicious activity to local or state authorities.
Learn more about how water is treated and how it makes it to your tap here.
About American Water
American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in
For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
About West Virginia American Water
West Virginia American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, is the largest regulated water utility in the state with approximately 315 dedicated employees working to provide safe, clean, reliable and affordable water and wastewater services to approximately 610,000 people.
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SOURCE American Water