Corporate Profiles

Aqua America is the second largest publicly traded water and wastewater corporation based in the United States. It has pushed its way to the top through a strategy of aggressive acquisitions and drastic rate increases.

Aiming to make several dozen acquisitions a year, the company targets smaller systems to avoid a citizenry armed with resources to fight the takeover. And it pursues systems in states that have fast growing populations, corporate friendly regulatory environments and considerable investment needs.

Veolia Environnement operates hundreds of private water projects that serve an estimated 110 million people worldwide. Until 2002, Veolia, formerly known as Vivendi Environnement, was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi Universal, and as such was swirling in a maelstrom of corporate corruption and chaos.

Suez Environnement is the second largest water service corporation in the world. In the United States, it operates under the name United Water. United Water owns and operates water utilities in six states, and it runs water or sewer systems for 89 local governments across the country. It is the second largest private operator of publicly owned water and sewer systems in the United States.

American Water has come under fire from communities across the country for charging high rates, providing poor service, endangering public safety and lacking public accountability.