The new andvanced laboratory that will sit at the site of the company's Bryn Mawr headquarters

Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities breaks ground on new water testing lab in US. (Credit: Pixabay/Rudy and Peter Skitterians.)

Essential Utilities has started construction on the site of Aqua’s new water quality laboratory in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

The new andvanced laboratory that will sit at the site of the company’s Bryn Mawr headquarters. It is anticipated to be completed and enter into operations by the spring of 2021.

Currently, Aqua companies offers drinking water and wastewater services to more than 3 million people across 8 states including about 1.4 million people across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Essential Utilities to invest in installing mitigation technology at water treatment facilities

Essential Utilities announced that starting from this year, it will invest tens of millions of dollars over several years for installing mitigation technology at water treatment facilities where source water exceeds 13 parts per trillion (ppt) for any of the three PFAS chemicals.

The new two-storey, 14,700ft² building will more than double the size of the present 6,400ft² laboratory that has been serving the company for over 60 years now.

The primary lab will be on the first floor and an additional pilot testing lab will be on the second floor, offering more space to enable Aqua to adapt to the dynamic regulatory environment which requires additional sampling and equipment.

Aqua claims that its laboratory has been certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and four other state environmental and health regulatory agencies.

The lab has a professional staff of 20 microbiologists and chemists conducting 300,000 tests on 30,000 water samples annually. These scientists use 50 different analytical methods for 240 different water quality parameters.

Essential Utilities CEO Christopher Franklin said: “Our company was founded by Swarthmore college professors whose concern for water quality inspired them to build a pumping station for their community.

“That attention to water quality remains at the center of all we do today and is key to our ability to provide our customers with safe drinking water every day.”