BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aqua Pennsylvania announced today that it has promoted three Pennsylvania managers and hired a fourth as part of the restructuring of its operations in the Northern, Central and Western parts of the state in which the company collectively serves nearly 80,000 customer accounts (nearly 240,000 people).
“The reorganization makes the best use of our existing talent and complements it with the hiring of a tenured water and wastewater engineering professional from outside the company,” said Aqua Vice President Anthony J. Donatoni. The reorganization involves the Honesdale, White Haven, Susquehanna, Roaring Creek and Shenango divisions.
The reorganization combines the Honesdale and White Haven operating divisions under the management of former Honesdale Division Manager Steve Clark, who now holds the position of area manager and is responsible for a service area that includes 11 counties and 57 municipalities, and nearly 25,700 customer accounts (about 77,000 people). Clark, a native of Gouldsboro who currently resides in South Canaan, joined Aqua Pennsylvania in 2005, following his employment with American Water Services, where he was responsible for capital project management and maintenance of the Scranton Sewer Authority. Clark has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Penn State University.
The reorganization also combines the Roaring Creek and Susquehanna operating divisions under the direction of Area Manager Steve Draus who previously managed the White Haven Division. This new, larger division includes 16 municipalities throughout eight counties and also serves approximately 25,000 customer accounts (about 75,000 people). Draus, a Luzerne County native who grew up in White Haven and currently resides in Drums, joined Aqua Pennsylvania in 2010 following 11 years as a practicing engineer and project manager for several engineering firms. Draus earned his B.S. in environmental engineering at Wilkes University and is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania.
The Shenango Division service area remains as is serving 26,000 customer accounts (about 78,000 people) spread throughout 26 municipalities in eight counties, but is now headed by new Area Manager Jim Willard who recently joined Aqua with 26 years of municipal consulting engineering experience. Willard is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania who earned a B.S. in geology from the College of Wooster in Ohio and an M.S. in geology from the University of Cincinnati. Willard, a native of Hampton Township, Allegheny County who currently resides in Cranberry Township, Butler County, most recently worked as a senior project manager for KLH Engineers, in Pittsburgh where he gained significant experience with municipal water and wastewater systems including facilities planning, construction, plant operations, distribution and collections system design, treatment, compliance and capital planning.
Clark, Draus and Willard will each report to newly appointed Director, Operations Patrick Burke, who previously managed all but the Shenango Division as regional manager. Burke, a native of New Philadelphia, Schuylkill County who currently resides in Elysburg, Northumberland County joined Aqua in 1992 as engineer for Pennsylvania’s Roaring Creek Division and was promoted to manager of engineering in 1994 before being named regional manager for the Honesdale, White Haven, Susquehanna and Roaring Creek divisions in 2006—the position he held prior to this promotion. Burke has a B.S. in structural design and construction engineering from Penn State University and an M.B.A. from Bloomsburg University. He is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania.
“The restructuring has streamlined our operations, created efficiencies and has allowed us to draw on the strengths of some of our existing employees along with those of a new area manager, and will ultimately make a good operations unit even better,” said Donatoni describing the new organization.
Burke says he’s looking forward to working with each of his area managers in their new position. “I consider myself fortunate to take on these new responsibilities with such talented professionals on my team,” said Burke. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Steve and Steve for a few years now and am confident in their abilities to excel in their new roles. I am also excited about working with Jim who brings a wealth of knowledge in water, wastewater and engineering to the table.”
Aqua Pennsylvania serves approximately 1.4 million people in 31 counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information, or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.
WTRG
