WASHINGTON —
Some of the leading US providers of operational services for water
and wastewater treatment officially formed a new group today, 13
November, to support the use of public-private partnerships to meet
the nation's growing infrastructure needs.
The Water
Partnership Council (WPC), a not-for-profit organization, will
promote public-private partnerships — arrangements between public
agencies responsible for water and wastewater treatment and private
companies that provide operational services on a contractual basis.
"From coast to coast, communities are faced with the need to
spend millions of dollars to rehabilitate, repair and expand water
and wastewater infrastructure systems," said Mike Stark, WPC
president and president of USFilter Services Group, a subsidiary of
Vivendi Environnement (NYSE: VE). "Now, with the threats we face as
a nation, there is an even greater commitment to ensuring and
enhancing the safety and quality of our water resources. Our
companies have agreed to come to the table and jointly contribute
our expertise and resources to help meet the water infrastructure
challenge."
"Through public-private partnerships, our
companies are saving communities hundreds of millions of dollars,"
said Stark. "The private sector is and must be part of the
solution."
The council's first year of operation will focus
on helping municipalities examine the option of entering into and
managing public-private partnerships to receive maximum benefits,
Stark said. Simultaneously, the council aims to work with Congress
and the EPA to ensure that the nation takes a business-like approach
to managing these critically important water and wastewater
assets.
"Encouraging the consideration of public-private
partnerships will help advance such an approach," Stark said. "Both
the public and private sectors work hand-in-hand every day, and
we're certain that the strengths of government and leading
private-sector companies yield the best results for ratepayers when
those respective strengths are combined."
He said the council
will develop various information guides and papers based on the
successes of communities served by council-member companies. In
addition to serving municipalities, many of the members also serve
industrial clients.
According to Stark, the member companies
have consistently reduced water and wastewater treatment costs,
while meeting the most stringent standards for safety and
environmental quality.
"We have achieved these results by
applying lessons learned in operating thousands of systems in this
country and around the globe, by developing and applying the latest
technologies and by harnessing economies of scale," said
Stark.
In addition to Stark, the council's charter members
include the following top executives of the water industry
companies: Joe Burgess, Covanta Water, a division of Covanta Energy
(NYSE: COV); Keith Oldewurtel, Earth Tech, a division of Tyco
International (NYSE:TYC); Peter J. Moerbeek, ECO Resources, a
subsidiary of Southwest Water Co. (Nasdaq: SWWC); Don Evans, OMI,
Inc.; David Chardavoyne, Thames Water North America, a subsidiary of
RWE (DAX: RWE); Jean Michel Brault, United Water, a subsidiary of
Suez (NYSE: SZE); and Michael Belsante, US Water.
Combined,
these organizations are operating over 1,000 municipal and
industrial treatment facilities throughout the United States.
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