Illinois American Water Awards over $92,000 in Firefighter Grants

Since 2010, over 770 grants totaling over $760,000 have been awarded to Illinois fire and emergency organizations in the Company’s service area.

BELLEVILLE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Over $92,000 will be shared by over 90 Illinois fire departments through Illinois American Water’s 2021 Firefighter Grant Program. Since the program was created in 2010, over 770 grants totaling over $760,000 have been awarded to fire and emergency organizations serving customers in Illinois American Water’s service area.

“We know the importance and value water has in protecting homes and businesses; we also understand the need to support our local heroes. This program allows us to provide support to the local departments we serve,” said Justin Ladner, Illinois American Water President.

Illinois American Water’s Firefighter Grant Program awards grants to provide personal protective gear, communications equipment, firefighting tools, water handling equipment, training materials and classroom programs. To view the list of fire departments receiving grants across the state, please visit the News section of Illinois American Water’s website at www.illinoisamwater.com.

In addition to the Firefighter Grant Program, Illinois American Water partners with local firefighters on a daily basis. As a private water utility, the company is required to test and operate every fire hydrant annually. According to Ladner, Illinois American Water maintains over 32,000 fire hydrants across the state.

The firefighter grants are being announced in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 3- Oct. 9, 2021, to raise awareness about the importance of fire prevention and emergency planning. This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety!”. It educates about the different sounds the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms make. Learning the sounds of alarms will keep families safe. Learn more at www.nfpa.org.

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 7,000 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 help make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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For J.D. Power 2021 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards