• Rainy days, low demand ensure capacity for summer
BRYN MAWR, PA, June 2, 2009 -- Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. said today that consistency and frequency of rainfall throughout April and May have helped to ensure that its reservoirs will remain at capacity when the summer season officially begins later this month.
Fourteen days of rain in April and 15 number of rainfall days in May dumped nearly 9 inches of rain in the southeast Pennsylvania were Aqua has impoundment reservoirs, which hold approximately 10 billion gallons of water. While the rainfall did not set any records, it was enough to help the region bounce back from below-average rainfall in the first quarter of the year.
Reservoir levels are impacted by the amount of rainfall as well as customer demand.
"Our reservoirs have been full since the first week of May as a result of the rainfall and runoff," explained Aqua's Chief Environmental Officer Preston Luitweiler. "In addition to the rainy weather we had in April and May, demand has been constrained during this period when we typically see usage begin to increase leading into the summer. Because of the frequent rain, we experienced a slight decline in usage as people were not washing cars, watering lawns and using water for recreational activities like they do when the weather is warm and dry."
Luitweiler said customers should know that Aqua's reservoirs are full and ready to supply their domestic and recreational water needs. "The summer is our peak demand period, and we have plenty of water ready to serve our customers for their typical summer demands.
"Although we have ample supply for the summer, we always want to remind customers not to waste water and to remember that it is a limited resource," Luitweiler added. "We want customers to use this resource responsibly."
Aqua Pennsylvania provides water and wastewater services to approximately 1.4 million people throughout Pennsylvania, including 1.3 million people in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Berks counties. It is the largest subsidiary of Aqua America Inc., a U.S.-based, publicly traded water and wastewater utility holding company, which serves approximately three million people in 13 states.
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