California American Water Reminds Los Angeles County Customers to Continue Water Saving Practices Despite Improved Water Reserve Conditions

California American Water is encouraging all of its Los Angeles County customers to continue their wise water practices given the recent declaration by Governor Brown that the state’s drought has ended and local water allocations have been lifted by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Both actions were made possible by this season’s storms and the public’s continued conservation and water use efficiency efforts resulting in improved regional supply conditions.

“Despite the recent actions of the Governor and Metropolitan, wise water use must be a permanent way of life for California American Water’s Los Angeles County customers because of the challenges we face in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” said Patrick Pilz, California American Water’s manager of conservation and efficiencies. “California American Water would like to thank our Los Angeles customers for their water-saving efforts and helping meet the region’s reduced water allocation goals.”

Two weeks after Governor Brown announced the end to California’s recent drought, Metropolitan, the Southland’s largest imported water provider, ended its call for mandatory water restrictions. Metropolitan lifting the allocation restrictions will allow local agencies with groundwater basins to purchase water without financial penalty and store it. Groundwater reserves, which were significantly tapped throughout the Southland’s six-county region over the past several years due to previous dry conditions, have improved due to rain and local runoff. Surface supplies have also improved. Today, Metropolitan’s Diamond Valley Lake is nearly full, after being less than half full in the summer of 2009, and the district has more than a full year’s worth of supply deliveries in reserve.

Even with the Sierra Nevada snowpack conditions far above normal, Metropolitan will not receive its full request from Northern California this year because of environmental problems and pumping restrictions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

“The state and Southern California in particular continue to face long term water supply challenges. We encourage our customers to continue wise water use in order to meet these ongoing challenges and to maintain our reserves,” added Pilz. “California American Water has made it a priority to help its customers reduce their water use by providing them with the necessary programs and resources to help them save money on their water bill and protect the environment.”

California American Water offers free WaterWise residential and non-residential surveys, rebates on water-saving appliances, leak detection kits for toilets and other conservation tools and ideas. California American Water customers can sign up for these services by stopping by its local office located at 8657 Grand Avenue, Rosemead, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:25 p.m., or by calling (626) 614-2536.

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. California American Water’s Los Angeles County service district includes approximately 28,000 households and businesses and serves a population of about 100,000 people in the cities of Bradbury, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino and Temple City, as well as unincorporated portions of Los Angeles County and the Baldwin Hills area.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded 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 15 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

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