Aqua Pa.’s top priority is clean water
To the Times:
Aqua Pennsylvania shares Chester County’s concerns about the frequency of industrial waste discharges connected with the Mariner East Pipeline System and their potential harmful effects on the environment and residents’ private wells and property (“Chester County District Attorney files civil action against Mariner East pipeline,” April 25).
Customers of Aqua can trust in the drinking water we provide and should know that there has been no detection in our water samples from the Mariner East Pipeline mishaps. Aqua provides public drinking water and wastewater service to nearly 490,000 homes and businesses across Pennsylvania, and our team of experts continually conducts water quality tests in our source water and distribution system. Aqua has a certified laboratory in Bryn Mawr where we can run tests day or night. We also use online instruments that monitor water quality from our wells and surface water treatment plants 24/7 and will shut them down automatically if certain conditions, such as high turbidity, occur. As stated, we have not seen to date any contamination in our wells or surface water supplies from the Mariner drilling, but we’re troubled about the mishaps that seem to follow its activity. We’ve expressed concerns with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection about the potential adverse effects of horizontal drilling on our drinking water wells and water distribution infrastructure, and we’ve worked with the DEP and Energy Transfer in an effort to determine alternate construction plans away from our wells to protect our critical utility system and our communities’ water supply.
Aqua’s mission to protect and provide Earth’s most essential resource is at the heart of our 135year commitment to environmental stewardship. We understand that we need to manage water supplies responsibly through conservation and stewardship to safeguard water security for generations to come. We appreciate Chester County’s diligence in holding Energy Transfer accountable for its discharges and other detrimental impacts that have occurred throughout various communities within the county.