Illinois American Water’s H2O Help to Others Program provided approximately $94,000 to over 925 Illinoisans in 2016
Over a quarter of the customers helped reside in the Central Illinois area including Lincoln, Pekin, Peoria and Pontiac

[February 02, 2017]  PEORIA - In an ongoing partnership between the state’s Salvation Army agencies and Illinois American Water, more than 925 Illinois American Water residential customers received financial assistance in 2016 to help pay their water bills. The support came through the Company’s customer assistance program, H2O Help to Others.

The program is an emergency assistance program to provide supplemental funding to Illinois American Water residential customers in need. The Salvation Army helps to administer the program which originated in 1996.

“We want to ensure our customers have access to critical water service and we understand that at times our customers can face circumstances that make it difficult to pay their household bills. This is why we work with the Salvation Army to provide assistance to our customers who rely on us every day,” said Bruce Hauk, president of Illinois American Water.

In the Central Illinois service area, including Illinois American Water’s Lincoln, Pekin, Peoria and Pontiac service areas, over 260 households received a total of $27,800 in assistance last year. Illinois American Water will continue to offer the program. The H2O Help to Others program is supported by contributions from Illinois American Water as well as voluntary contributions from customers. Hauk said, “I want to thank our customers who voluntarily give to this program every month through their water bill payments.”

Over the past five years, the program has provided about $434,000 across the state in assistance grants to 3,986 Illinois households. Information regarding the program and how to donate to it is included on Illinois American Water’s customer bills. To learn more about this customer assistance program or about payment plan options, 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.

Illinois American Water ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Water Utilities in the Midwest" according to J.D. Power’s 2016 Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM.

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 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

[Karen L. Cotton
Manager, External Affairs
Illinois American Water]