Many of our customers are unaware of the fact that the MPWC, which is co-owned by Merchantville and Pennsauken Twp., was first established in 1926. Another interesting fact is that our service area goes beyond Merchantville and Pennsauken. In fact, we supply water daily to areas in Camden City as well as Cherry Hill Twp.

The MPWC has over 15,000 connections serving over 50,000 people. Some of our largest customers include the Cherry Hill Mall, the Garden State Race Track Development, Aluminum Shapes, Inc., J&J Snacks, Cooper River Plaza Apts., Heinz Foods, the Merchantville and Pennsauken Country Clubs, and Pepsi Cola to name a few.

In the 80 years of our serving these communities we have come a long way from the horse and carriages that carried water from customer to customer. Now water is carried by underground water mains from which homes and businesses connect to obtain their water. In fact, if all the water mains from the MPWC were put in a straight line, we could supply drinking water to Richmond, Virginia. In total we have apporximately 175 miles of water mains.

That brings us to the question of how much water the MPWC pumps on a daily basis. Granted, the season of the year and the weather have a tremendous impact on our pumpage. In the winter months, the MPWC has averaged 6 ½ million gallons per day. During the summer months that daily number has averaged 7½ million gallons per day. This is equal to over 130 gallons of water daily for every woman, man and child in our service area.

So where does all this water come from? Some water companies get their water from surface sources. These include rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and even the oceans in some cases. The MPWC gets all of its water supply from 14 underground wells. These wells vary in depth from 139 to 290 feet deep. Although these wells appear to be very deep in the earth, they are shallow compared to many towns in South Jersey that need to drill 700, 800 feet and deeper, before being able to produce significant amounts of drinking water.

Another accomplishment of the MPWC that greatly benefits its many customers is the above ground water storage facilities that have been built through the years. The MPWC has 5 above ground water tanks with a capacity of 7 million gallons of water. This type of storage not only enhances water pressure which is needed to take showers, sprinkle lawns and fight fires, it also provides over a full days worth of water supply in case of an emergency situation.

The MPWC prides itself on its committment to keep abreast of the most recent advancements in water treatment technologies. That committment extends to continued training and education. Our management staff as well as many of our treatment and transmission personnel continue to attend training seminars and courses designed to keep us up to date and aware of better ways to serve our customers with the safest and best tasting water possible.

In regards to treatment facilities, the MPWC has invested in the most current methods and modern plants for the treatment and transmission of your drinking water. In fact, the MPWC has hosted other water treatment professionals and New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection officials to showcase our facilities and share our success stories.

These investments of time and money have enabled the MPWC to provide, through the years, a continuous and plentiful supply of clean, safe, and tasty water.