California American Water Recognized as 'Company of the Year' by Planning and Conservation League

The Planning and Conservation League, one of the leading environmental organizations in the state, presented their ‘Business of the Year’ Award to California American Water at their annual symposium. Company president Rob MacLean accepted the award.

The award recognizes the company for its leadership and dedication to bringing to fruition the San Clemente Dam Removal project, the largest dam removal in the state's history, which brings numerous environmental benefits to the region.

“This is a tremendous honor,” MacLean said. “I may have been the individual to accept this award but none of this would be possible without the efforts of our employees, local elected officials as well as federal, state and county representatives and, of course, the numerous and dedicated community advocates who all played a vital role in making this historic project happen. This award is for all of them.”

“The project represents an innovative public-private partnership among dozens of agency, community, environmental, business and elected partners,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League. “Leading this historic effort was California American Water, which owns and operates the dam. This project is a great example of widespread collaboration leading to watershed solutions that work for everyone involved, and will hopefully serve as a model for future efforts to restore California's waterways to health.”

Since it was built in 1921, the San Clemente Dam has impacted people and nature along the Carmel River. As a result, once vibrant steelhead runs have dramatically decreased and lives and property below the dam are threatened with the possible collapse of the seismically unsafe structure.

Removing the San Clemente Dam will restore access to 25 miles of spawning and rearing habitat, critical to the South Central California Coast Steelhead’s recovery. Restoring the river’s ecological connectivity will also benefit other threatened species like the California red-legged frog. Enabling sediment to move past the dam will also help replenish sand supply to Carmel River beach and dunes, fortifying the beach and coastal area against sea level rise.

California American Water began the dam's deconstruction phase over the summer of 2013 and is expected to complete the project by late 2015. When the project is complete, more than 25 miles of unimpaired habitat will be restored for the threatened South-Central California Coast steelhead. The land on which the dam now sits – 928 acres – will be donated to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, creating 5,400 acres of continuous regional parkland.

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

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 approximately 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 14 million people in more than 30 states, and parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.