* Year Established: 1887
* Employees: 106 (Chattanooga)
* Milestones: Chattanooga became just the second city in the South to have filtered water 130 years ago. One of the oldest businesses in Chattanooga, Tennessee American Water company processes up to 35 million gallons of treated water a day for residential and commercial use.
The company traces to 1887 when the American Water Works and Guarantee Company, the forerunner of American Water Works Company, Inc., purchased the Lookout Water Company and Mountain Springs Water Company, according to corporate archives. In 1973, the company underwent a name change, from City Water Company to Tennessee American Water Company. It is a subsidiary of the New Jersey-based American Water Company.
Most Chattanoogans will recognize the company’s iconic billboard on Riverside Drive featuring “Phillip D. Glass” a fictional character whose name is a play on the words “fill up the glass.” The company serves 380,000 customers in the region. In the last decade, Tennessee American has invested more than $197 million in water-related infrastructure.