History

Water For People history

In the early 1980s, Ken Miller, a former president of AWWA; Wayne Weiss, with Black & Veatch; and John B. Mannion, a former executive director of AWWA, shared the heartfelt vision of a world where all people have access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and basic health services.

Their vision touched the hearts of other leaders in AWWA. Together they put this idea into motion, transforming it into the social responsibility of the water industry. AWWA members provided the unprecedented excellence of the North American water utilities, manufacturing companies, and engineering consultants.

By the late 1980s, AWWA’s International Affairs Committee received a gift from the Ford Meter Box Company, Inc., for John Kalbermatten to prepare a feasibility study on helping people in developing countries. In 1989, the study resulted in a small ad hoc group to study issues concerning the organization’s start-up.

In February 1991, the dream turned into reality as Water For People became incorporated as a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit development organization, followed by the establishment of Water For People–Canada as a charitable organization in 1995.

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has designated Water For People as its charity of choice. In addition to AWWA, the Water Environment Federation, the Water Quality Association, the National Association of Water Companies, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, and other sectors of the North American water community, including leading manufacturing and consulting engineering companies, endorse Water For People.