Hingham, Massachusetts, Aug. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SUEZ today officially begins a historic water services partnership with the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, to operate, maintain and manage the newly named Weir River Water System, which provides safe drinking water to approximately 35,000 residents and businesses in the Hingham, Hull and North Cohasset communities.
“This is a historic day that is the result of significant effort by the Town’s professional staff and a multitude of committed volunteers,” said Hingham Selectman and Water Commissioner Mary Power. “We are very pleased to have reached this point after nearly nine years of work.”
The contract with SUEZ is a five-year, $25 million partnership, with an option for another five-year extension, that will include the management of a 7.7 million-gallons-per-day surface water treatment plant, 11 water wells and a water distribution network, which includes 192 miles of main, two storage tanks and a booster system. SUEZ will also manage the customer service and billing system, and open a storefront location in downtown Hingham. SUEZ will serve the 13,196 customers across Hingham, Hull and North Cohasset.
“This is an important acquisition for all of the system ratepayers,” said Tom Mayo, Hingham Town Administrator. “It became clear through our extensive procurement process led by staff and residents that SUEZ was the highest qualified applicant to operate our system and that we would build a strong partnership with them for years to come. We are excited about SUEZ bringing in new technology and innovations that will allow for greater system investment and sustainability.”
One of the newest technologies SUEZ will be implementing in Hingham is an asset management solution that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Machine Learning, to assess the condition and risk of drinking water distribution mains. This technology will assist in finding leaks in the distribution system, which has been an ongoing challenge for the Town.
“We look forward to working with our new partners in Hingham, Hull and North Cohasset,” said Nadine Leslie, CEO of SUEZ North America. “We have more than 150 years of experience in providing safe drinking water to communities throughout the United States. Residents and businesses can count on us to deliver service excellence, while providing the latest in technology to simplify their customer experience.”
During the upcoming transition from Aquarion to SUEZ, customers will receive one final bill on July 31 from Aquarion. Their first bill from the Weir River Water System/SUEZ partnership will come during the customer’s normal billing cycle. For service issues, or to report a water main break or water quality concerns, customers can call 781-740-6695. For questions regarding billing or payment, customers should dial 800-732-9678.
Additional customer information is available at www.weirriverwater.com.
About SUEZ North America
SUEZ North America operates across all 50 states and Canada with 3,000 employees dedicated to environmental sustainability and smart and sustainable resource management. The company provides drinking water, wastewater and waste collection service to 6.7 million people on a daily basis; treats 560 million gallons of water and 460 million gallons of wastewater each day; delivers water treatment and advanced network solutions to 16,000 industrial and municipal sites; processes 160,000 tons of waste for recycling; rehabilitates and maintains water assets for more than 6,000 municipal and industrial customers; and manages $4.1 billion in total assets. The company posted revenues of $1.1 billion in 2019 and is a subsidiary of Paris-based SUEZ.
About SUEZ:
Since the end of the 19th century, SUEZ has built expertise aimed at helping people to constantly improve their quality of life by protecting their health and supporting economic growth. With an active presence on five continents, SUEZ and its 90,000 employees strive to preserve our environment’s natural capital: water, soil, and air. SUEZ provides innovative and resilient solutions in water management, waste recovery, site remediation and air treatment, optimizing municipalities’ and industries’ resource management through “smart” cities and improving their environmental and economic performance. The Group delivers sanitation services to 64 million people and produces 7.1 billion m3 of drinking water. SUEZ is also a contributor to economic growth, with more than 200,000 jobs created directly and indirectly on an annual basis, and a provider of new resources, with 4.2 million tons of secondary raw materials produced. By 2030, the Group is targeting 100% sustainable solutions, with a positive impact on our environment, health and climate. SUEZ generated total revenue of €18.0 billion in 2019.