Essential’s Utilities Prepared for COVID-19

Mar 17, 2020

Essential Utilities Inc. announced today that its Aqua water utilities and Peoples natural gas utilities continue to monitor the novel coronavirus “COVID-19” outbreak throughout its combined ten-state footprint, working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities to continuously address the situation and evaluate operational response plans.

“As water, wastewater and natural gas utilities, we are a critical part of everyday life,” said Essential Chairman and CEO Christopher Franklin. “The health and safety of our customers and employees is our top priority.”

Each Aqua utility is focused on providing critical public services to ensure the continued reliability and safety of water and wastewater systems for customers.

“First and foremost, our customers should be assured that drinking water provided by each Aqua water utility meets or exceeds all state and federal water quality standards,” said Colleen Arnold, president overseeing Aqua’s eight-state water and wastewater businesses. “Our standard business operations include treatment procedures that remove or inactivate viruses, including COVID-19, from our water supplies and sources.”

Aqua customers can stay up to date on any water service emergencies impacting their area by signing up to receive WaterSmart Alerts by phone, email and/or text. To sign up, please visit www.aquaamerica.com and see the Water Smart Alerts link in the sidebar.

“At Peoples, we are fully prepared to continue to provide safe and reliable natural gas service,” said Joe Gregorini, president of Peoples. “We have strong and exercised business continuity plans to ensure our customers receive high quality service even while we are dealing with situations such as the coronavirus pandemic.”

Peoples customers can learn more by visiting www.peoples-gas.com.

Beginning in late February, Essential activated its business continuity planning procedure and its preparedness efforts include providing ongoing guidance and resources to employees to mitigate the spread of acute respiratory illness, lessen the potential impact of COVID-19 in operating facilities and maintain business operations. No disruptions or impact to water, wastewater or natural gas services are anticipated as a result of the outbreak.

For more information about the coronavirus, please visit:

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization

COVID-19 updates

Mar 25, 2020
All Aqua COVID-19 updates will be posted and maintained here. Please visit this page often as additonal information will continue to be added.

Has Your Facility Been Shut Down During COVID-19? Make sure the water system is flushed upon reopening.

Apr 30, 2020

More information below or available in PDF format here.

• The Aqua family of water and wastewater utilities aims to keep our customers continually informed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• As a result of the pandemic, you may have temporarily closed your business, church or school building.
• It is important for you to know that water held unused in pipes while buildings are closed can become stagnant and produce undesirable tastes or odors when the building is re-opened and water use is returned to normal. 
• Extended periods of inactivity can also cause lead leaching or legionella growth. It is important to take proper steps to alleviate these potential issues.

What Should Building Owners Do?

• It is recommended that the building plumbing, including water heaters, be thoroughly flushed before reopening for normal use by flushing all cold water lines first followed by hot water lines. 
• Thorough flushing includes operating all sink, tub, shower and toilet fixtures. Safety equipment, such as eye washes, safety showers and fire sprinkler systems may also require assessment and necessary maintenance. 
• Standard plumbing equipment should be flushed as follows:
  • Toilets: Flush several times to ensure fresh water moves through piping
  • Faucets and Showers: Run for approximately 10 minutes total (cold lines first, then hot)
  • Other Appliances/Apparatus: We recommend flushing other appliances thoroughly to bring fresh water into the system. It is advisable to run water until you can smell the chlorine in the water. If you have an appliance such as a refrigerator or ice maker that has a filter, after flushing, you should follow manufacturer’s instructions for replacing water filters.

For Further Information

• For detailed information on reactivating plumbing systems after dormant conditions, please visit the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/building-water-system.html.
• Customers can also contact the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit the following sites for more information:
• https://www.epa.gov/sites/produc­tion/files/2018-09/documents/flush­ing_best_practices_fact­sheet_508.pdf
• https://www.awwa.org/Resources-Tools/Resource-Topics/Coronavirus#10681543-shutoffs-and-return-to-service-guidance