The overall ranking was measured by examining 33 attributes across six study factors: quality and reliability, price, conservation, billing and payment, communications, and customer service. Beyond the overall ranking, the company was also No. 1 in the western large segment for each of the six factors analyzed.

"We work day in and day out to provide a reliable and affordable supply of safe, clean water to our customers; provide excellent customer service; and enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve," said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO. "While we believe this is simply part of our mantra to always 'do the right thing,' we are honored that our customers believe in us and provided this positive feedback. Our team will remain dedicated to fulfilling our promise to provide quality, service, and value to our customers and communities."

This is the eighth year J.D. Power has conducted a residential customer satisfaction study for water utilities. The study ranked U.S. water utilities serving a population of at least 400,000 residents by analyzing about 33,000 customer interviews. Las empresas de servicio se categorizaron en las siguientes regiones geográficas: medio oeste, noreste, sur y oeste.

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com.

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The project, which cost about $238,400, was funded through Cal Water's lawn-to-garden rebate program. It included the landscaping around City Hall as well as a portion of nearby Highridge Park. The Highridge Park transformation also includes a rainwater runoff feature, an important piece of landscaping on the hilly Palos Verdes Peninsula. Both gardens serve as a model for the type of water-saving landscaping residents and businesses can utilize on their own properties. Cal Water estimates that the city will save 1.33 million gallons of water per year between the two locations.

"In keeping with the City Council's established policy of using no pesticides or herbicides, the landscape was planted with not just a goal of conservation, but also to establish a habitat for butterflies and hummingbirds," Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Britt Huff said. "Additionally, being an equestrian community, we were mindful of providing a safe environment for visiting horses."

Input from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy helped with making those plant choices, so the City could be environmentally responsibile while promoting water conservation.

"We are pleased to partner with the City of Rolling Hills Estates on this important water conservation project. Although conditions have been quite a bit wetter this year, with a changing climate making extreme weather patterns more frequent and severe, we can count on more dry years ahead," said Ralph Felix, District Manager for Cal Water's Rancho Dominguez District, which includes the Palos Verdes Peninsula. "Now is a great time to make changes like this, where water conservation becomes a way of life, so when drier years hit, our customers are already ahead of the curve."

Yurina Melara with Save Our Water, California's statewide water conservation program, emphasized the importance of collaboration in making conservation a way of life.

"The efforts we are highlighting today are a shining example of the partnerships we see in communities across the state," said Melara. "Californians share the responsibility to conserve water at all levels, including state agencies, local governments, water providers, and community residents. By coming together, we are making conservation a way of life."

About City of Rolling Hills Estates

Rolling Hills Estates, located in Los Angeles County, CA, sits on the northern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. With a rural character and population of 8,066, Rolling Hills Estates is a primarily residential community that boasts many horse trails, a serene environment and small commercial area.

About Save Our Water

Save Our Water is California's statewide water conservation program. Started in 2009 by the California Department of Water Resources, Save Our Water's goal is to make water conservation a daily habit among Californians. The program reaches millions of Californians each year through partnerships with local water agencies and other community-based organizations, social marketing efforts, paid and earned media and event sponsorships. Please visit SaveOurWater.com and follow @saveourwater on Twitter and Instagram and @SaveOurWaterCA on Facebook.

The post Transforming a City Hall into Drought-Tolerant Model appeared first on California Water Service.

"We want to thank our customers for all of the hard work that they have been doing to make conservation a way of life in California," said Stuart Skoglund, Selma Operations Manager. "At the same time in this financial climate, we want to support our customers, some of whom are struggling to make ends meet. We want them to know about programs available to them, so nothing stands in the way of enjoying safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water."

The family-friendly event, which will take place from 4-7 p.m. at Lincoln Park Plaza at the corner of Mill Street and McCall in Selma, will be a celebration with music, food, face-painting, and more. It will also include opportunities for attendees to learn about water quality, their water system, conservation programs, and customer assistance programs. The utility is encouraging eligible customers who meet maximum income limits to apply for a one-time benefit of up to $15,000 per household for past-due or current bills from the California Department of Community Services & Development's (CSD) Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). There will also be a mini-conservation garden-building station and an opportunity-drawing for a high-efficiency clothes washer (high-efficiency washers use 35-50 percent less water and approximately 50 percent less energy than traditional washers).

In March, Cal Water's Selma district reached water savings of 27.8 percent and was the eighth top water-saving district out of 26 districts in California. Cal Water, together with its customers, has reached water savings of 24.4 percent as of March 2023 compared to March 2020, with 17 districts savingâ€"some significantly more than 15 percent.

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Cal Water submitted a filing today with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to rescind Stage 2 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan because of improved drought conditions and increased water supply throughout its districts. Stage 1 becomes effective immediately but remains subject to a 30-day review period by the CPUC.

"This year has been one of the wettest on record, with a snowpack that has reached historic levels; however, we must remember that it follows three of the driest years on record," said Martin A. Kropelnicki, Cal Water President and CEO. "As our changing climate makes these extreme weather patterns more frequent, we will continue to work with our customers to build and maintain long-term conservation habits that prepare us for when the weather pendulum swings back to dry years."

Although Cal Water is moving to Stage 1, customers must continue to observe any city or county landscape irrigation ordinances in effect. Cal Water also encourages customers to remain vigilant about their water use and, in particular, ensure landscaping actually needs water before irrigating it.

Some outdoor water-use restrictions remain in place, including:

• No watering of non-functional turf at commercial, industrial, and institutional properties.
• Watering only between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m.
• No watering of outdoor landscapes during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall.
• Only washing vehicles with a hose that has a shutoff nozzle or similar device, or at a car wash that uses recycled water.
• No watering driveways, sidewalks, or other paved areas, unless for health and safety purposes.

Cal Water's conservation rebates and programs will also continue, including a $3-per-square-foot rebate for lawn-to-garden conversions, a 50 cents-per-square-foot rebate for spray-to-drip conversions, and its popular Smart Landscape Tune-Up Program. For a complete list of rebates, programs, and water-use restrictions, visit calwater.com/conservation.

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As part of its efforts to continue expanding and improving its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) program, California Water Service Group today released its annual ESG Report and ESG Analyst Download. The 2022 report details progress made across Group's subsidiaries last year on their relevant ESG focus areas, while the supplementary analyst download provides Group's key ESG data that it believes is relevant to the Company's stakeholders.

Highlights featured in the California Water Service Group ESG Report include both ongoing efforts to support the Company's ESG strategy and objectives along with significant, new achievements, such as:

• An updated inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, plus a commitment to setting absolute, science-based Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reduction targets by Q3 2024.
• Investment of $328 million in infrastructure to improve resiliency, water quality, sustainability, and other needs, an increase of about $35 million over 2021.
• More than $6.1 million invested in water conservation rebates and programs, which is estimated to help customers save about 180 million gallons of water annually, compared to 47.8 million gallons of water saved annually through 2021 rebates and programs.
• Wildfire mitigation projects, such as the addition of more backup generators and clearance of fire breaks around key facilities.
• Contribution of $1.58 million to charitable organizations that share Group's purpose to enhance the quality of life in its communities.
• Local community events to help low-income customers take advantage of rate assistance and other programs.

"While doing the right thing has always been in our DNA, our ESG program helps us not only track our continued progress year after year, it also helps us more strategically expand our commitments to our customers, communities, employees, and stockholders," said Marty Kropelnicki, President and CEO. "I'm pleased to publish this year's ESG disclosures, as they showcase the strides we have made; however, we will not rest with these accomplishments but rather strive to keep doing more to provide quality, service, and value to our stakeholders."

Este comunicado de prensa incluye declaraciones prospectivas en concordancia con lo establecido por la Ley de Reforma de Litigios sobre Valores Privados de 1995 ("La Ley"). Tales declaraciones intentan tener la protección de lo dispuesto por las leyes de valores federales para los principios de "puerto seguro" establecidos por esta Ley. Dichas declaraciones se basan en información actualmente disponible, expectativas, estimaciones, presunciones y proyecciones y criterios de manejo sobre la Compañía, la industria de servicios públicos del agua y las condiciones económicas generales. Such words as will, would, seek, expects, intends, plans, believes, estimates, assumes, anticipates, projects, predicts, forecasts or variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Las declaraciones prospectivas no son garantías de acciones futuras. Las mismas están sujetas a los cambios e incertidumbre de las circunstancias. Los resultados reales pueden variar materialmente del contenido de las declaraciones prospectivas. Factors that may cause a result different than expected or anticipated include, but are not limited to: natural disasters, public health crises, pandemics, epidemics or outbreaks of a contagious disease, such as the outbreak of coronavirus (or COVIDâ€�19); governmental and regulatory commissions' decisions, including decisions on proper disposition of property; consequences of eminent domain actions relating to our water systems; changes in regulatory commissions' policies and procedures; the timeliness of regulatory commissions' actions concerning rate relief and other actions; changes in water quality standards; changes in environmental compliance and water quality requirements; electric power interruptions; housing and customer growth trends; the impact of opposition to rate increases; our ability to recover costs; availability of water supplies; issues with the implementation, maintenance or security of our information technology systems; civil disturbances or terrorist threats or acts; the adequacy of our efforts to mitigate physical and cyber security risks and threats; the ability of our enterprise risk management processes to identify or address risks adequately; labor relations matters as we negotiate with unions; changes in customer water use patterns and the effects of conservation; the impact of weather, climate, natural disasters, and diseases on water quality, water availability, water sales and operating results, and the adequacy of our emergency preparedness; and, other risks and unforeseen events. Al considerar las declaraciones prospectivas, usted debe tener en cuenta las declaraciones preventivas que se incluyen en este párrafo, al igual que el informe anual 10-K, el informe trimestral 10-Q y otros informes presentados ocasionalmente ante la Comisión de Valores y Bolsa (SEC, siglas en inglés). La Compañía no asume ninguna obligación de proporcionar actualizaciones de las declaraciones prospectivas por medios públicos.

The post 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report appeared first on California Water Service.

The Company will base its reduction targets on a newly updated inventory of its Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions, which was completed with an independent third party in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the global standard for measuring and managing organizational GHG emissions.

"Having a more thorough and complete picture of our emissions was a critical first step in charting a course to the future and setting meaningful reduction targets. We have said from the beginning of our ESG journey that we want to be methodical and transparent, being honest and realistic about what is achievable," said President & Chief Executive Officer Martin A. Kropelnicki.

The Company also inventoried three of what it believes to be its most relevant and significant Scope 3 emissions categories: Purchased Goods and Services, Capital Goods, and Waste Generated in Operations. In the coming years, the Company intends to continue to mature and expand its Scope 3 emissions assessments, as well as conduct an exercise to identify the areas where it can have the greatest influence and impact. We believe these foundational activities are a critical step in considering Scope 3 emissions reduction strategies.

"I'm pleased that we now have a path to setting emissions reduction targets. But emissions reductions are just one of our priority ESG topics. Things like customer health and safety, water supply reliability, and affordability are equally critical to the sustainability of our business. Moving forward, we will strive to balance the needs of all of our stakeholders as we continue to fulfill our purpose of enhancing the quality of life for those we serve," Kropelnicki said.

Este comunicado de prensa incluye declaraciones prospectivas en concordancia con lo establecido por la Ley de Reforma de Litigios sobre Valores Privados de 1995 ("La Ley"). Tales declaraciones intentan tener la protección de lo dispuesto por las leyes de valores federales para los principios de "puerto seguro" establecidos por esta Ley. Dichas declaraciones se basan en información actualmente disponible, expectativas, estimaciones, presunciones y proyecciones y criterios de manejo sobre la Compañía, la industria de servicios públicos del agua y las condiciones económicas generales. Such words as would, seek, expects, intends, plans, believes, estimates, assumes, anticipates, projects, predicts, forecasts or variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Las declaraciones prospectivas no son garantías de acciones futuras. Las mismas están sujetas a los cambios e incertidumbre de las circunstancias. Los resultados reales pueden variar materialmente del contenido de las declaraciones prospectivas. Factors that may cause a result different than expected or anticipated include, but are not limited to: natural disasters, public health crises, pandemics, epidemics or outbreaks of a contagious disease, such as the outbreak of coronavirus (or COVIDâ€�19); governmental and regulatory commissions' decisions, including decisions on proper disposition of property; consequences of eminent domain actions relating to our water systems; changes in regulatory commissions' policies and procedures; the timeliness of regulatory commissions' actions concerning rate relief and other actions; changes in water quality standards; changes in environmental compliance and water quality requirements; electric power interruptions; housing and customer growth trends; the impact of opposition to rate increases; our ability to recover costs; availability of water supplies; issues with the implementation, maintenance or security of our information technology systems; civil disturbances or terrorist threats or acts; the adequacy of our efforts to mitigate physical and cyber security risks and threats; the ability of our enterprise risk management processes to identify or address risks adequately; labor relations matters as we negotiate with unions; changes in customer water use patterns and the effects of conservation; the impact of weather, climate, natural disasters, and diseases on water quality, water availability, water sales and operating results, and the adequacy of our emergency preparedness; and, other risks and unforeseen events. Al considerar las declaraciones prospectivas, usted debe tener en cuenta las declaraciones preventivas que se incluyen en este párrafo, al igual que el informe anual 10-K, el informe trimestral 10-Q y otros informes presentados ocasionalmente ante la Comisión de Valores y Bolsa (SEC, siglas en inglés). La Compañía no asume ninguna obligación de proporcionar actualizaciones de las declaraciones prospectivas por medios públicos.

The post Committed to Setting Emission Reduction Targets appeared first on California Water Service.

Residents may have noticed work in the following locations:

• Charter Way/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, from Center Street to California Street
• Country Club Avenue, from Fraser to Franklin, including the residential neighborhood south of Country Club
• Michigan and Monterey, from Mission Avenue to Pershing Avenue
• Drake and Hinkley, from Horner Avenue to Main Street
• Sonora Street, from Hunter Avenue to American
• San Joaquin Street, from Washington to Church, including smaller portions of Sutter and California streets
• Jackson and Clay, from Harrison Street to El Dorado Street
• Harding Way, from Pilgrim to Wilson Way

"These infrastructure improvements help Cal Water maintain a reliable water supply for both everyday and emergency needs, while also preventing water loss from aging pipes," said Jeremiah Mecham, Stockton District Manager. "We appreciate our customers, neighbors, and motorists for their patience as we complete these projects."

As these projects have spanned many areas, Cal Water also appreciates the cooperation of multiple agencies, including City of Stockton, San Joaquin County Public Works, Caltrans, and OmniTrax railroad.

The post Infrastructure Upgrades in Stockton appeared first on California Water Service.

Cal Water's East Los Angeles and Rancho Dominguez Districts serve a population of about 530,000 in Los Angeles County. The utility donates much-needed funds to local community organizations that help those in need, such as at-risk youth, veterans, the unhoused, and those who are food insecure; it also supports causes that promote youth development, sustainability, economic growth, and more. Cal Water has also established its own focused initiatives and gives back through its Firefighter Grant Program, College Scholarship Program, and H₂O Challenge water education program. Additionally, Cal Water encourages its employees to volunteer their time to local organizations and matches employees' charitable contributions.

"Beyond our dedication to providing safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water service to our communities and being a responsible steward of the environment, we strive to make our communities a better place through our corporate citizenship efforts and community partnerships," said Martin A. Kropelnicki, Cal Water President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are honored to be recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal and congratulate the other finalists in our category for their critically important work in the community, namely AltaMed, Armanino, Farmers & Merchants Bank, and Verizon."

The post Cal Water Honored for Corporate Social Responsibility appeared first on California Water Service.

The work will be done at the following locations:

• 2nd Street, between K and L streets
• South J Street, between 1st and 2nd streets
• South K Street, between 1st and 3rd street

Work is scheduled for two timeframes each day, Monday through Thursday, during the initial phase requiring the most construction to minimize the impact on residents and businesses. Construction that causes more noise, such as potholing and saw-cutting, will be completed during the day between 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Digging, pipe installation, and service tie-ins will take place at night between 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Pedestrian access to businesses will be available at all times.

Cal Water will display "No Parking" signs 72 hours in advance of any parking areas that need to be cleared for construction. In an effort to minimize traffic delays and disruption, streets will be open to traffic whenever possible, and there will be no impact on the Thursday night Farmer's Market.

"This infrastructure improvement project will help Cal Water maintain a reliable water supply for both everyday and emergency needs, while also preventing water loss from aging pipes," said John Freeman, Livermore District Manager. "We thank all of our businesses, patrons, and motorists downtown for their patience as we make these upgrades that will last for decades to come."

In addition to the current project, Cal Water recently completed replacing 2,470 feet of 6-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch water main along Locust Street, from O to K streets, and along P Street, from Pine to Linden streets.

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Cal Water has announced that classes from Bonita Street STEAM Academy (Carson, Calif.), Sierra View Elementary (Chico, Calif.), and Little Chico Creek Elementary (Chico, Calif.) won the top five spots in the ninth annual Cal Water H₂O Challenge classroom competition, with Heidi Ballard's fifth-grade class at Bonita Street STEAM Academy taking the 2023 grand prize. Ballard's class was honored at a surprise schoolwide assembly on Friday, April 14, 2023.

The Cal Water H₂O Challenge (challenge.calwater.com) is a collaboration among Cal Water, the WestEd K-12 Alliance, and DoGoodery. This free, project-based competition invites fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade classrooms in Cal Water service areas to develop and implement solutions for local water issues. This year's competition proposed a new theme focused on sustained drought conditions in California. Although the state experienced a significant amount of rain over the past few months, the climate continues to get hotter and drier long-term and the need for water conservation solutions is more important than ever, according to Cal Water. Participating classrooms were encouraged to keep the theme in mind while exploring local water issues.

Ballard's class project, D.R.I.P. (Drought Intelligence Repair Plan), was inspired by articles and segments about the drought in news cycles. The students measured water waste from automatic sinks in bathrooms and hoses as they were used on campus. They shared their findings with the school administration and then embarked on a campaign to educate their peers and community about water conservation. The class produced a presentation, video public service announcement, and native plant seed balls to share with their community, along with posters, bookmarks, and comic books to share with other students. The project is ongoing, as the students continue to work to enact water-saving changes in school facilities.

“Through the learning my students engaged in, the activities they accomplished, the scientific data they collected, and the results they analyzed, it is clear that there was an increase in the amount of people who are more thoughtful and more educated about California water issues and are taking action to do their part to make a difference,” Ballard reflected on the impact of her students' project.

Ballard's class won a $3,500 classroom grant, a STEM-based field trip, pizza party, and gift cards and prize packs for the teacher and each student.

Emily Akimoto's fifth-graders at Sierra View Elementary took home the second-place prize—which includes a class pizza party, $2,500 classroom grant, and student prize packs—for their project, “‘Water' Ways to Collect Trash?” Students designed a prototype device to remove trash from creeks.

The third-place prize, including a $2,000 classroom grant, pizza party, and student prize packs, went to Christine Gaytan's fifth-graders at Bonita Street STEAM Academy for their project, "C.A.T. Crew 2.0 Waving Goodbye to Plastic Pollution!" The students educated their peers on the importance of recycling and using reusable water bottles to reduce plastic waste in the ocean.

Fifth-graders in Whitney Toste's class at Sierra View Elementary won fourth-place for their project, "Operation Drainage." The class, which earned a $1,000 classroom grant, pizza party, and student prize packs, experimented with different materials for better drainage into aquifers and shared their findings with companies responsible for local building development projects.

Fifth place was awarded to Kristen Thomas's fifth-grade students at Little Chico Creek Elementary. Their project, "Every Drop Matters!," included educating their school about the importance of native species and habitats in water conservation. The class also planted native landscaping and trees in the riparian zone of Little Chico Creek. The class won a $500 classroom grant, pizza party, and prize packs for each student.

“I'd like to congratulate our grand-prize winner, Ms. Ballard and her students, on their inspirational project to save water both as individuals and as a school campus. It is also a privilege to recognize all of this year's winning classes and a joy to see the creative projects from each participating class in the 2023 Cal Water H₂O Challenge." said Martin A. Kropelnicki, Cal Water President and Chief Executive Officer. "These studentsâ€"our future leadersâ€"have all demonstrated a thorough understanding of water issues in their communities and impressed us with their ability to solve challenges and engage others in wise water use."

About DoGoodery

DoGoodery is a full-service agency that provides customized strategies and services to help its customers reach their impact goals. Its expertise spans a wide range of critical social areas with a foundation in business, and it collaborates with customer teams to custom-design innovative strategies and seamlessly manage and execute the work. For more information visit www.dogoodery.com.

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