California American Water to Host Public Meetings on Rates, Investment and Conservation

California American Water will be hosting two community meetings to inform customers about the company’s current request for a rate adjustment from the California Public Utilities Commission for the years 2012 to 2014.

Customers are urged to attend a meeting to ask questions and share their thoughts with company representatives, who will be on hand to discuss rates, investment in water infrastructure, customer service and water conservation. Representatives from the company’s rates, engineering, customer service, water quality and conservation departments will be present at each meeting.

“It is important to reach out to the community and explain exactly why a rate increase is needed, and how the $34 million investment in infrastructure will benefit our customers,” said Andy Soule, California American Water’s general manager of the Sacramento service district. “Our average metered customers get about three gallons of water per penny they spend in rates.”

Major capital improvements scheduled to be funded as part of the current rate proceeding include approximately $20 million to fund meter retrofits, $5.7 million in water treatment improvements and $2.5 million in distribution system improvements. Other rate case drivers include increased funding for operations and maintenance activities.

Information on conservation rebates, free conservation kits with water saving devices including low flow showerheads and garden hose nozzles and information about our water wise surveys for homes and businesses will be available at each meeting. California American Water will also promote its H2O – help to others rate assistance program at each meeting.

The meetings will be held at the following locations:

Jan. 24, 2011 at 7pm
Foothill Community Center
5510 Diablo Drive
Sacramento, CA 95842

Jan. 25, 2011 at 7pm
Fruitridge Community Center
4000 Fruitridge Rd.
Sacramento, CA 95820

California American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), provides high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 600,000 people.

In 2011, American Water is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a yearlong campaign to promote water efficiency and the importance of protecting water from source to tap. To learn more, visit www.amwater125.com.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 16 million people in 35 states, as well as Ontario and Manitoba, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.