Following an international bid for offers, the Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux group today announced that its United Water Services Atlanta subsidiary was selected by the city of Atlanta (Georgia) to produce and distribute drinking water to the city's 1.5 million inhabitants. This agreement, pending approval by Atlanta City Council, represents the largest private water assigned management contract ever awarded by a municipality in the United States.

The project includes the operation and maintenance of the Hemphill and Chattahoochee water treatment facilities and include 4,500 kilometers of service mains and feeder lines. The duration of the contract, still has to be determined by the Atlanta City Council. Annual revenues from the project will be between $23 and $25 million.

Prior to this decision, the City of Atlanta used to managed the water system through a public corporation controlled by the municipality. The use of a private operator will result in a decrease of management costs by forty per cent. The reason for such a decrease can be found in the significant transfer of technology (automation, energy savings…) and improvements in the organisation of the company which will occur with the implementation of the project.

Gérard Mestrallet, CEO of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux said : " The selection of United Water Services by the city of Atlanta crowns a number of recent successes by United Water. These accomplishments, due in part to legislative changes passed in May 1997(1) in the United States, highlight the Group's ability to effectively pursue development opportunities in an extremely fragmented market. "

In October 1997, UWS obtained a 10-year extension on its water treatment contract with the city of Indianapolis/Indiana. In January 1998, it obtained a contract for water treatment for the city of Milwaukee/Wisconsin. A contract for the construction of an ultrafiltration system in San Antonio was awarded in March 1998, and a water treatment contract with Gary/Indiana was announced in June 1998.

United Water Services Atlanta is a partnership between Atlanta-based engineering firm, William Russel & Johnson (35%), and UWS (65%). UWS is a 50/50 partnership between Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux and United Water Resources (UWR). In turn, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux holds a 28% stake in UWR.

UWR and UWS operate in the U.S. under the trade name United Water and serve 7.1 million inhabitants in 19 U.S. states with drinking water and wastewater treatment.

A world-wide leader in the water sector, the Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux group is present in over 120 countries and serves over 73 million people with drinking water and nearly 43 million people with wastewater services.