As the decade comes to a close, we can’t help but look back and reflect on all of the growth of the company and the new services and projects we’ve introduced to our customers over the past 10 years.

Speaking of new services, did you know that we have multiple new e-Billing features that make it easier than ever to pay your water bill? To learn even more, we spoke with Manager of Collections, Billing, and Cash Applications Jack Farnsworth to get the details of four newly improved features and how they benefit Aqua customers across all eight of the states we serve.

Payment arrangement

We’re pleased to say that our payment arrangement feature is now active in all Aqua states. Payment arrangements are available to any Aqua customer who has fallen behind on their payments, and the feature allows customers to take the past due months and stretch them out for several months until they are caught up.

“The invoices were modified to clearly provide the monthly installment, the number of payments remaining and the total balance of the payment arrangement,” Farnsworth added. “At Aqua, we listen and value our customers—this change came directly from customer feedback. We’re glad that these new invoices help customers better understand their payment arrangements for a stress-free experience.”

Text reminders

Constantly worried about missing a payment? Never fear! Aqua has partnered with Speedpay to give our customers the option to receive text reminders to easily avoid late charges. The text feature sends a message five days before the payment is due, the day it is due, and five days after.

The text reminders also provide a hyperlink that customers can click through to make their payments. Head here to become one of the 14,000 and counting Aqua customers utilizing this convenient text option! 

Daily account balance

You asked, we listened. Our call centers have received a large volume of customers asking for their current account balance over the years, so Aqua decided to make it even easier to check your bill. Simply log onto the Aqua WaterSmart website to view your daily balance. Easy peasy!

One-time payment availability

Previously, only Aqua customers enrolled in e-Billing were able to make a one-time payment via the WaterSmart website. Now, all customers can use this feature to pay bills electronically as many times as they please. We’ve seen an increase in customers utilizing this feature in 2019, and we hope to continue this growth through 2020. 

“Everything proposed, achieved, or rejected is for a better customer experience,” Farnsworth said of all these e-Billing improvements. “These features were all created to provide our customers with more information, faster information, and ease of payment.”

“I am very excited about all the customer enhancements we have implemented this year,” said Georgetta Parisi-Knup, vice president, customer operations. “Offering our customers a wide range of options across multiple platforms is important as we continue to focus on improving our customers’ experience with Aqua.” 

Our customers are always our priority, and we hope these efficient new features make life just a little bit easier. Cheers to a great 2019 and an even better 2020!

Sure, the weather is getting colder, and it’s the time of year when we all spend a little more time indoors. But did you know that our Aqua Illinois team has entered the initial stages of a dam restoration project in Danville, Illinois to improve the reliability and quality of the water in Lake Vermilion? 

As the Aqua Illinois team prepares for excavation, Bob Ervin, director of operations for Illinois, spoke with us to dig a little deeper into what exactly this major renovation project means for Danville, Illinois, and the surrounding area.

Why restore the dam?

While we regularly complete routine maintenance work on all of our systems, including the Lake Vermilion Dam, Ervin says that this specific renovation “will ensure a reliable water source for residents of Danville and Vermilion County for generations to come.”

Ervin went on to explain that the dam “creates a man-made impoundment of water, which is critical to meeting the water demands of the Danville area” and that the renovation project will continue to allow the water within the dam to exceed the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. 

What’s the status?

In preparation for the construction phase, crew members set up cranes, boats, air compressors, generators, ramps, barges, and more. After this initial stage, the project moved into construction, which  entailed the removal and replacement of six of the 10 tainter gates in 2019. The remaining four tainter gates and the high-level sluice gate will be completed in 2020.

To complete the renovation, workers will use anchoring to perform post-tension support work, followed by a teardown, clean up and removal of all worksite equipment and materials. We’re dedicated to keeping the Danville service area clean and functional, and we’re committed to minimizing any potential inconveniences to local customers.

What about customers who want to use the lake recreationally?

During construction, our crews reduce potential disruptions by installing a high visibility safety float barrier on the lake from shoreline to shoreline, stretching 650 feet in length with orange buoys as markers. This safety measure is an effort to protect those who wish to use the lake recreationally over the course of the dam restoration.

Aqua Illinois recognizes Lake Vermilion’s role as the primary water source for Danville and Vermilion County as well as its many recreational purposes. Ervin ensures that Aqua will provide regular communications to the public, including residents who live along Wilkin Road, which leads to the dam site, and to residents living around the lake itself.

Whether we’re working in Illinois or any of the eight states we serve, we’re dedicated to improving our infrastructure systems on a continual basis in order to provide safe, reliable water to all of our customers. Stay tuned to learn more about our infrastructure improvement projects in our next Aquastructure blog!  

Aqua America is in the process of assessing our company website, aquaamerica.com, with the goal of updating the site for an improved digital experience.

We’d love to hear from you!

We are reaching out to invite community members and customers to participate in the process of improving the Aqua America website by taking a quick survey. Your input will be extremely valuable to this process. At the end of the survey, participants will have the chance to enter a drawing to win a gift card.

The survey can be accessed HERE. Thank you in advance for assisting in our efforts to gather valuable feedback about our website.

Water is all around us—even on Thanksgiving! Before the big meal, take a second to learn about how much water is in all of your favorite dishes.

If you live in or near Berkeley and Bayville, New Jersey, this one’s for you: Aqua New Jersey recently completed capital improvement projects on three all-new water treatment facilities to add iron removal processes that ensure safe and reliable water for the community.

To learn more about the nitty-gritty details of these infrastructure upgrades—and why they’re so important—we spoke with Aqua New Jersey Project Manager Michael Convery. 

What exactly did the project involve?

In a nutshell, the central purpose of the project was the addition of iron removal treatment processes at our existing Lifetime Well 4 and Pinewald Wells 3 & 5 sites. It also involved the creation of a brand-new well at the Sherman Well 6 site, also with—you guessed it—iron removal treatment. 

The projects at all three sites involved the construction of new treatment buildings and the replacement of all existing well pumps, variable frequency drives (VFDs), chemical pumps, and other treatment-related equipment. Plus, all three sites introduced backwash tanks, allowing the ability to recycle 85% of backwash water, and upgraded existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. 

Were all the project sites the same? 

Not quite—each site required its own unique dose of TLC. It was out with the old and in with the new at the Lifetime site, where crews retrofitted the old well treatment building with new equipment and constructed an additional treatment building for the iron removal filters with concrete masonry units (CMUs) and brick materials. 

Over at the Sherman site, crews drilled a new well and built a treatment building complete with all-new pumping and treatment equipment. This structure was constructed with CMUs and vinyl siding materials to blend in with the surrounding environment.

Finally, crews at the Pinewald site constructed a new iron removal treatment building made with CMUs and brick material for wells 3 & 5 following the demolition of the old treatment building. As an added bonus, all three sites now have GreensandPlus pressure filters for iron removal. (Trust us—in water provider language, that’s a huge plus!) 

What’s the big deal about removing iron from water?

At these plants, it’s essential to ensure the filters operate properly and backwash on the right parameters to achieve proper iron removal (and thus to achieve proper water quality). Luckily, there are controls in place at each location to make sure everything operates smoothly. 

According to Convery, the iron removal process involves using pressure filtration with manganese dioxide coated sand, which is known as GreensandPlus. “The system includes filter face piping with automatic valves and controls,” he adds. “The process involves air scouring capabilities to allow for efficient cleaning of filter media during backwashing.”

What happens next? 

Now that the intensive project is complete and Aqua New Jersey customers are benefiting from the upgraded facilities, Convery can look back fondly on the whole process. 

“The local operations group—especially Ron Suto, Mike Ricciardella, and Forrest Wolf—worked hard to keepthe system fully functional throughout the entire project,” he says. “It was a true team effort. Without all ofthe hard work of the New Jersey team and local operations, this project would not have been possible.”

Teams like these New Jersey employees are perfect examples of our commitment to the pursuit of excellence here at Aqua. Stay on the lookout for our next Aquastructure blog, where we’ll chronicle another chapter in our ongoing infrastructure improvement story!