May 13, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Illinois American Water’s Godfrey Wastewater Team Celebrates 20 Years of Excellence in Safety

Illinois American Water’s Village of Godfrey wastewater service team is celebrating two decades of safety excellence. The local wastewater team has gone 20 years without experiencing any lost-time accidents. Illinois American Water acquired the Godfrey wastewater system in November 2019.

Karen Cooper, Illinois American Water Director of Operations, said, “This achievement is a testament to the long-time commitment to safety by the Village of Godfrey as well as Illinois American Water’s safety focus. We are proud to be a part of this accomplishments and to recognize our employees.”

To ensure safe work practices, Illinois American Water employees attend training on a regular basis. During COVID-19, safety training has continued with online classes and virtual meetings. Illinois American Water has also activated a business continuity plan to provide reliable, high-quality service to customers, and protect employees during this public health crisis.

The company implemented social distancing and is strictly limiting customer contact during emergency in-home appointments. We request that customers follow social distancing recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Employees have also received critical protective equipment including face coverings, hand sanitizer and more. This is in addition to proper personal and work zone protection equipment, chemical handling requirements and training, work zone safety training, and more.

Bernie Sebold, Senior Manager of Illinois American Water’s Safety and Health Program, said, “For us, safety never takes a day off, it is a daily focus. I am proud of our team’s commitment to ensure the safety of the entire team, not only over the last 20 years, but especially in today’s environment with COVID-19 and the impact to the way we operate. Our entire team has embraced new personal protective equipment, social distancing and more.”

Cooper agreed, “We look out for each other and are continuously evaluating our work environment to prevent injury. The work we do is complex and our safety program is a top priority. There is nothing more important than our employees going home in the same condition as they arrived at work, or better.”

To learn more about Illinois American Water please visit www.illinoisamwater.com.

About Illinois American Water - Illinois 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 and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.