Company: AWK
Filing Date: 2025-02-19
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001410636-25-000022
Chunk: 40

Company: American Water Works Company, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-19
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 40
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 that exceed the limits specified under NPDES permits can lead to the imposition of fines and penalties, and persistent non-compliance could lead to significant fines and penalties and other compliance costs. In addition, the difficulty of obtaining and complying with NPDES permits, and renewing expiring permits, may impose time and cost burdens on the Company’s operations. From time to time, discharge violations occur at the Company’s facilities, some of which result in fines. The Company does not expect any such violations or fines to have a material impact on its results of operations or financial condition. The EPA has identified wastewater discharge permitting and permits for the application of biosolids, or sewage sludge, containing PFAS as areas of focus in its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Individual states may also take action in these areas. As indicated previously, capital expenditures and operating costs to comply with environmental mandates have been traditionally recognized by PUCs as appropriate for inclusion in establishing rates. As a result, the Company expects to recover the operating and capital costs resulting from any new requirements in these areas.

13

Research and Development

The Company’s Research and Development Program

The Company maintains an industry-leading research and development (“R&D”) program that is designed to enhance its services, support its compliance activities, improve service quality and operational effectiveness, and provide environmental leadership. For more than four decades from its inception, American Water’s R&D program has evolved into an industry-leading effort and has achieved numerous advancements in the science of drinking water, wastewater, and desalination. Through laboratory and industry resources and the team’s expertise, efforts are focused on contaminants of emerging concern, including but not limited to PFAS, Legionella, cyanotoxin-forming algal blooms, a variety of pathogens (for example, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, viruses, and various bacteria), microbial indicators and disinfection byproducts. The Company’s R&D personnel are located at the Company’s corporate headquarters and at two laboratory testing facilities in New Jersey and Illinois, the latter housing its quality control and testing laboratory, which supports the Company’s R&D activities through testing and analysis.

The Company continues to leverage its expertise and collaborates with the EPA and state agencies to help establish effective environmental, health and safety, and water quality standards and regulations. This relationship includes sharing of the Company’s research, such as its treatment and distribution system optimization research and its national water quality monitoring data. The Company’s engagement with the EPA provides it with early insight into emerging regulatory issues and initiatives, thereby allowing the Company