We are committed to bringing you the answers for any questions you may have about us.
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CSWR is parent company to 16 utility operating companies across 11 states.
The corporate headquarters is located at:
1630 Des Peres Rd., Ste 140
Des Peres, MO 63131
CSWR engineers and compliance experts work closely with local environmental and other regulatory agencies to meet quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other state departments. This is an important step to ensure that the innovations and technology investments made when upgrading outdated and frequently non-compliant infrastructure, meet industry standards for safety and compliance. Depending on the state in which CSWR owns and operates a utility company, these regulatory bodies may be a state’s business, utility, or service governing authority (such as a Public Service Commission).
The governing body that oversees the jurisdictional operations of utilities in each state ultimately determines rates for CSWR customers. As a privately owned utility, CSWR must apply with the Public Utilities Commission of the state where its subsidiary utility company operates when seeking to raise rates. There is no guarantee on a specific return, though private companies are entitled to a fair and reasonable return on their investments which is evaluated through a rigorous process during which the private company must provide evidence that the capital it has invested to build up, repair, replace and ultimately maintain a system has been reasonable and that the company is operating prudently and in good faith. Customers are always notified first by the utility company when a rate increase is sought, and customers have the right to review the rate requests and comment in writing to the Public Service Commission, and/or attend scheduled hearings.
CSWR has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire and transform critical water and wastewater systems across the United States, focusing predominantly on those smaller, underserved communities in areas where property values may have diminished due to inadequate or noncompliant infrastructure. Smaller utility companies in particular often struggle with compliance issues due to a lack of access to capital and an absence of technical expertise needed to operate at required standards. Did you know that water utilities serving under 2,500 people comprise only 10% of all water utilities in the U.S. but make up 80% of the EPA’s acute human health violations? These communities face unique challenges and significant funding barriers. Our investments elevate communities, ultimately enhancing value and helping to drive outside development and growth.
Water may be considered a human right and therefore a free resource, but that is not what customers are paying for. As a customer, you are paying the financial cost of sourcing, treating, and delivering water to your home. This occurs through a system of pipes, pumps, treatment plants and reservoirs, all of which must be carefully maintained. Untreated potable water can carry harmful bacteria and contaminants; treatment purifies the water, removing potentially harmful contaminants and safeguarding the water for drinking, bathing, and general consumption. Similarly, you can’t just flush water down the toilet or run dirty water down the sink and expect it to be discharged directly onto the ground or the surrounding environments – this water must be treated before it can be safely released.
The Safe Water Drinking Act was passed by U.S. Congress in 1972, authorizing the EPA to set standards for water delivered to households and communities across the United States. Some highlights of the Act include the setting of enforceable health standards for contaminants in drinking water, which is what guides a utility provider’s issuance of Boil Water Advisories. Currently there are 911 regulated contaminants in drinking water. The EPA requires public notification of water system violations and annual reports; CSWR publishes these as Consumer Confidence Reports, available per system for all CSWR customers concerned about their water quality. The Act also includes provisions to protect underground sources of drinking water.
In the water utility industry, “infrastructure” refers to all the assets or equipment related to the sourcing, treatment, and delivery of potable water to your tap. And in the United States, much of this infrastructure is reaching its end of design life – deteriorating to the point where its viability is often compromised. As climate change intensifies, it’s even more crucial to invest in our infrastructure to safeguard both our communities and our environment. Did you know that aging water infrastructure loses water at an alarming rate? It’s estimated that drinking water systems in the U.S. currently lose at least 2.1 trillion gallons of treated water per year (approximately $7.6 billion) to water main breaks and leaky pipes. (Source: Water Online).
The systems acquired by CSWR are typically decades old, outdated, often noncompliant and in violation of EPA standards, and in various states of distress – even if this type of disrepair is not always visible to the end consumer (example: leaking pipes that not only facilitate contaminants entering a water distribution system, but also alternately allow treated water to seep out, wasting the water). Ultimately, it’s always more expensive to repair a system that has deteriorated from lack of maintenance than it is to have consistently maintained a system by re-investing into it to prolong its utility and promote its longevity. It takes several years and an ongoing commitment to bring these systems into compliance as we safeguard communities with current, upgraded technology that ensures the highest quality water and resources.
Wastewater is any waste stream that is discharged from a household or business into the community collection system which is then treated and released into local waterways. Typical sources are toilets, sinks, washing machines, etc. from either homes or businesses. It is not the same as potable water that you drink from the tap.
Once your water leaves your sink, toilet, or washing machine (to name some typical examples), it goes into a community collection system (pipes, mains, and lift stations), ultimately arriving to a treatment plant where the impurities are removed through a process that first separates out large debris, then moves on to the next process involving the breakdown of organic solid wastes, and then finally to the disinfection phase. The treated water can then be safely discharged back into the environment (for example: local streams, creeks, and rivers).
The systems acquired by CSWR are typically decades old, outdated, often noncompliant and in violation of EPA standards, and in various states of distress. Ultimately, it’s always more expensive to repair a system that has deteriorated from lack of maintenance than it is to have consistently maintained a system by re-investing into it to prolong its utility and promote its longevity. It takes several years and an ongoing commitment to bring these systems into compliance as we safeguard communities with current, upgraded technology. CSWR invests millions of dollars equipping facilities with everything ranging from water aeration platforms and holding tanks, to building lagoons and protecting them from outside entry; repairing lift stations and installing remote-monitoring technology to quickly identify issues and prevent them from escalating; replacing disinfection systems that pose acute human health risks over time, upgrading and replacing mechanical components on hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of machinery – and more.
Wastewater is treated through natural exposure to sunlight, or, alternately treated with chemicals designed to speed up natural processes that break down most of the waste that a household or business produces. Treatment plants remove the impurities contained in wastewater so that the treated water can then be safely discharged into nearby creeks and streams. This is done by creating an environment favorable to the growth of microorganisms whose job is to break down the water into less harmful forms, accomplished through an accelerated process allowing for the treatment of larger volumes of wastewater in a shorter period of time.
There are some easy ways you can help to conserve water – see our “From the Tap” blog where we have some great tips and pointers on this.
We are contacted from time to time by customers who experience higher than expected water usage in their home and think they may have a leak. Unfortunately, if there is a leak impacting the water usage recorded by the meter, it is necessarily on the customer-owned side of the system and will be the customer’s responsibility to find and repair.
Calling a plumber to help identify and repair a leak is always an available option. However, if you want to first attempt to confirm the leak, the following procedures may help to confirm or deny the presence of a leak.
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