BUFFALO, NY, July 7, 2010 -- In a competitive procurement, the City of Buffalo, N.Y. has selected Veolia Water North America (Veolia Water) to manage and operate the city's water system under a 10-year public-private partnership that will serve approximately 280,000 people.
Valued at approximately $53 million, the contract includes managing, operating and maintaining the city's water treatment facilities and distribution system, as well as all customer service components. Buffalo's water distribution system includes a 160 million-gallons-per-day (MGD) water treatment facility, 785 miles of pipe, more than 12,000 valves and 7,430 fire hydrants.
Veolia Water will manage approximately 117 City of Buffalo employees who will remain city employees. The City of Buffalo will continue to own all water assets and maintain rate-setting authority.
"We will be introducing new programs and new performance metrics to ensure improvements in customer service," said Keavin Nelson, executive vice president of Veolia Water North America's East Region. "Included in our commitment are improvements in Call Center operations, investment in customer service software, the creation of a new Underground Asset Management program, and development of a new comprehensive maintenance program to drive a higher level of service to Buffalo residents. In all, 20 performance metrics will help determine our performance and accountability. We are very excited to have the opportunity to serve the people of Buffalo."
Service improvements will be phased in during the first year of the contract.
Based in Chicago, Veolia Water North America is the leading provider of comprehensive water and wastewater partnership services to municipal and industrial customers, providing services to more than 14 million people in approximately 650 North American communities. The company is part of the Veolia Environnement companies in North America, with 30,000 North American employees providing sustainable environmental solutions in water management, waste services, energy management, and passenger transportation.
Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world leader in water and wastewater services and technological solutions. Its parent company, Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE and Paris Euronext: VIE), is the worldwide reference in environmental services. With more than 312,000 employees, Veolia Environnement recorded annual revenues of $50 billion in 2009. Veolia Environnement is in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index (DJSI STOXX). Visit the company's Web sites at www.veolianorthamerica.com and www.veoliawaterna.com
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