Drinking Water Week Highlights The Vital Role of Water
By Essential Utilities CEO Christopher Franklin
Every day of the year, the Aqua team works to ensure the drinking water we provide in the communities we serve is clean and safe. That responsibility is something we take extremely seriously.
Water is a precious resource that plays a critical role in sustaining life. This year, American Water Works Association’s annual Drinking Water Week serves to highlight the vital part drinking water plays in our daily lives.
According to the EPA, the United States has one of the most reliable and safest supplies of drinking water in the world. While this is something to be proud of, we must be mindful that as a nation, we are facing significant challenges to our aging water infrastructure, much of which needs to be upgraded or replaced. Cracked pipes, water main breaks and other age-related issues, including lead service lines, can impact water quality and increase the risk for contamination.
Aqua actively works to replace our mains to ensure we maintain our customers’ water quality and reliable service. In fact, just last year, we replaced about 150 miles of aged water mains throughout our eight states.
Similarly, the types of service lines on our customers’ property can impact the quality of the drinking water inside. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder, and this can cause lead exposure in a homeowner’s water supply. It is important that homeowners understand their individual situation.
We invest millions of dollars each year to improve our plants, tanks, distribution systems and other infrastructure, including removing Aqua-owned lead service lines when present, so that we can better provide quality, reliable drinking water to all of our customers.
I hope you’ll take a few moments to watch our lead education video to help you better understand this national issue, and also, to reflect on just how essential water is in your daily lives, on the occasion of Drinking Water Week, and every week.
