WASHINGTON, DC – The DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) will present a check for $36,297.66 to the American Red Cross for its Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund during the Board of Directors meeting, at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 1, 2005.

WASA is one of a number of local organizations allowing employees to donate unused annual leave. The gift to the American Red Cross represents donations made by employees over the past several months, including 775 hours of unused annual leave and personal cash contributions.

“Although they are no longer on the front pages of the daily newspapers, or the ‘top story’ in the nightly newscasts, thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees are still either displaced, separated from their families, or unemployed,” said WASA General Manager Jerry N. Johnson. “They have lost homes and irreplaceable possessions and, in some cases, even family members. They are still in our thoughts, and our employees continue to help with the relief efforts.”

According to Johnson, disasters like Hurricane Katrina generally bring out the good in people, and WASA employees are no exception to the rule. The workforce immediately stepped up to assist in the relief and recovery efforts in the wake of the devastation and misery suffered by the people in the Gulf Coast during the August 29, 2005 hurricane.

“The American Red Cross of The National Capital Area is always appreciative of organizations, like WASA, that help in a time of need. WASA’s donations help us provide our life-saving services 24 hours a day,” said Linda C. Mathes, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross of the National Capital Area. “We can consistently count on the Washington, D.C. metro community to help during times of disaster locally, nationwide or even internationally.”

About WASA: The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) is a regional utility that provides drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment for more than 500,000 residential, commercial, and governmental consumers in the District of Columbia. WASA purchases treated water from the Washington Aqueduct, a division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and distributes it throughout the District of Columbia. WASA also collects and treats wastewater for another 1.6 million customers in the Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Fairfax and Loudon counties in Virginia.

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