Pennsylvania American Water Announces $17.5 Million Plan for Water Storage Upgrades in 2023

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (May 24, 2023) – Pennsylvania American Water today announced its 2023 plans to rehabilitate eight of its water storage tanks and construct five new tanks. Pennsylvania American Water’s tank rehabilitation program of inspecting, sandblasting, and repainting tanks extends their service lives and helps protect water quality. The total cost of the company’s water storage upgrades this year is approximately $17.5 million.

“Storage tanks help provide suitable water pressure for our communities and important storage reserves for fire protection,” said Bruce Aiton, vice president of engineering at Pennsylvania American Water. “Proactively maintaining and rehabilitating tanks where there are opportunities to do so provides cost benefits to our customers, and building new tanks helps provide additional capacity for community growth and system resiliency.”

This year, the company will rehabilitate and repaint ground storage tanks in the following municipalities:

• Union Township, Washington County - $1,400,000
• Smith Township, Washington County - $625,000
• Fairview Township, York County - $585,000
• Coatesville City, Chester County - $1,000,000
• White Township, Indiana County - $320,000
• White Township, Indiana County - $1,200,000
• Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County - $480,000
• Swatara Township, Dauphin County - $1,000,000

To rehabilitate the tanks, crews will strip the original paint and apply a new coating, which serves as a protective barrier that prevents steel from rusting and impacting water quality. During construction, customers should not experience impacts on their water service.

The company also is constructing five new ground storage tanks in the following municipalities to provide additional water storage capacity, which will help the company continue to deliver reliable water service to meet customer demand and provide fire protection:

• Laurel Run Borough, Luzerne County - $1,000,000
• Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County - $6,500,000
• Kingston Township, Luzerne County - $100,000
• Walker Township, Schuylkill County - $432,000
• White Deer Township, Union County - $2,900,000 

Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 2.4 million people. For more information, visit www.pennsylvaniaamwater.com and follow Pennsylvania American Water on Twitter and Facebook.