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American Water shares preparedness tips for hurricane season

This hurricane season, American Water is providing tips to help customers and the public prepare for extreme weather events.  

“American Water takes system resiliency and safety seriously – especially when faced with extreme weather events that could place strain on our systems and employees,” said Cheryl Norton, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, American Water. “Our teams are ready to respond quickly in the event of a weather-related event. And we encourage our customers and the general public to be prepared for hurricane season by taking simple steps like having emergency water and supplies on hand.”  

Consider taking the following precautions ahead of extreme weather events, including: 

• Filling watertight containers – and even your bathtub – with water in advance of the storm’s arrival should water service be disrupted; 
• Conserving water for essential needs; 
• Closing your home’s main water shut-off valve in the event of an evacuation; 
• Creating an emergency plan and informing your household of the plan; and 
• Tracking the latest weather updates to help ensure readiness and equip your home to best battle this season’s storms. 

American Water continues to invest significantly in resiliency projects to address the impacts of climate variability by hardening its assets. Over the next 10 years, American Water plans to invest $46 billion to $48 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions. Capital investments, in parallel with continuous improvement, diligent cost management, and technology enhancements, help the company continue to maximize efficiency while serving customers' needs. 

 “Effective storm preparedness is achieved through consistent, long-term planning and proactive investment into our systems. Infrastructure investment builds resiliency and sustainability of operations year-round – not just as a reactionary measure,” said Norton.  

Visit www.ready.gov for more tips and information on severe weather preparation.  

Additionally, the American Water Charitable Foundation, a philanthropic non-profit organization established by American Water, recently announced that it has again donated $250,000 to the American Red Cross, continuing its membership in the Disaster Responder Program. Proactively funding disaster relief helps ensure the Red Cross can prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small, whenever and wherever they occur across the U.S.