California American Water Names New Engineering Director

SAN DIEGO, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- California American Water announced today that Richard Svindland has been appointed to the position of Engineering Director. Svindland will be based at the company's Sacramento office, where the majority of its engineering team resides.

In this role, Richard will oversee all of the company's capital projects within the state to ensure their timely and cost-efficient delivery as well as their optimum production once in place. Richard will also develop capital planning strategies as well as provide an operational review of existing infrastructure in order to ensure these systems are sufficiently meeting both the current and future needs of the more than 600,000 people the company presently serves in California.  

"There are many challenges facing California's water infrastructure and they will only grow more pronounced as the state's population expands," said Rob MacLean, president of California American Water. "California American Water has been on the leading edge in pursuing new and innovative strategies to improve and enhance our source of supplies. Richard's proven and extensive expertise in managing large-scale projects and expert knowledge in emerging technologies will help us continue to lead the way in ensuring the state has a sufficient and affordable supply of quality water for generations to come."

Svindland brings more than 20 years of experience to the job, including nearly a decade of working with American Water. Svindland most recently was a principal in a civil engineering firm in Georgia, where he headed its water and wastewater operations. Prior to this, from 1999-2009, he worked extensively with Kentucky and American Water's Southeast Region on various projects throughout the Southeast. In all, Svindland has overseen more than $500 million in water and wastewater projects since 1990 and more than $100 million of that have been American Water projects.

Svindland was named 2003 Civil Engineer of the Year in Industry by the Kentucky section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Svindland will work closely with the leadership of the California American Engineering team, Mark Schubert, John Kilpatrick and Deana Donohue.

He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering form the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Kentucky.

California American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), provides high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 600,000 people.  

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company.  With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 16 million people in 35 states, as well as Ontario and Manitoba, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

SOURCE California American Water