Virginia American Water Issues Mandatory Conservation Notice for Hopewell Area Customers

Virginia American Water today issued a mandatory conservation notice for customers in the Hopewell area to reduce water consumption due to a fuel spill in the Appomattox River, which resulted in the shutdown of the company’s water treatment plant. Virginia American Water operators shut down the plant prior to any fuel entering the treatment process. The company says the quality of customers’ drinking water is not affected, but the plant will remain shutdown until the spill is cleaned up and it’s safe to restart the plant.

Customers are asked to reduce non-essential water use until the issue is corrected and the conservation requirements are lifted. This notice affects approximately 9,400 customers.

Virginia American Water has notified the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Health about the incident. The cause of the fuel spill is under investigation.

Customers will be notified when the mandatory conservation notice is lifted, and updates will be provided through the Virginia American Water website at www.virginiaamwater.com, under the Alert Notifications section. For more information, contact Virginia American Water’s customer service center at 1-800-452-6863.

Virginia 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 services to more than 339,000 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 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in more than 45 states and parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.