The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) has recognized Golden State Water Company as winner of its 2016 Management Innovation Award for pioneering a new way of engaging customers on water conservation through the "Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign."

The award was presented on Monday, October 3 at the NAWC's Water Summit in San Diego.

"We are honored to receive this prestigious award that celebrates innovation," said Robert Sprowls, president and CEO of Golden State Water. "Golden State Water takes great pride in how we engage with customers, and pioneering a new approach like the Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign to create an open dialog on conservation aligns with our goal of always pursuing creative and progressive ways to share important information and maintain that valuable connection we have with the communities we serve."

The Management Innovation Award is presented annually by the NAWC to celebrate groundbreaking, industry-changing ideas implemented by private water utilities. Judging was based on innovation, short- and long-term benefits to the company, value to the water utility industry, the ability to be recreated by others and presentation quality.

"Each of the Management Innovation Award entries from NAWC members this year were impactful, creative and showed excellent thought leadership," said Michael Deane, NAWC executive director.

"Entries included everything from conservation efforts and management plans to technological advancements and community support initiatives."

Golden State Water customers throughout California have saved nearly 19 billion gallons of water over the last 21 months (beginning January 2015), compared to 2013 usage. To learn more about the conservation resources and programs available to Golden State Water customers, please visit gswater.com or follow @GoldenStateH2O on Twitter.

Golden State Water Company (Golden State Water) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR). Golden State Water provides water service to approximately 257,000 customers throughout 10 counties in Northern, Coastal and Southern California, and distributes electricity to approximately 24,000 customers in the Big Bear recreational area of California through its Bear Valley Electric Service division. American States Water Company also owns a contracted services subsidiary, American States Utility Services, Inc. (ASUS). ASUS provides operations, maintenance and construction management services for water and wastewater systems located on military bases throughout the country under 50 year privatization contracts.

About the NAWC

The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) is the voice of the private water industry and the organization exclusively representing this group of quality water service providers, innovation drivers, creative financiers and responsible partners. To learn more about NAWC, visit NAWC.org.