Camden’s nearly century-old water and sewer pipes snake through the city, with its hydrants, valves and meters scattered across streets and neighborhoods.

American Water, the Voorhees-based company that took over the city’s water and sewer service operations and maintenance in February, announced Tuesday it would partner with a city program to map out pipes, drains, meters and hydrants. The goal is twofold: to enable American Water to better maintain the system and conserve water, and to help Camden’s young people hone their work skills on the path to employment.

Participants in the city’s PowerCorps program, an offshoot of AmeriCorps, will fan out through the city to gather information that will be fed into a database for American Water. Once the mapping is finished, American Water can make improvements aimed at reducing water loss, improving water quality and managing storm- and wastewater better.

“This helps our city’s young people focus on the environment and our infrastructure,” said Mayor Dana Redd, before she spoke at American Water’s Camden Operations Center, just off Admiral Wilson Boulevard, once a frequently-flooded thoroughfare.

“They’ll see firsthand how technology and infrastructure come together,” Redd added, noting the city’s work – in partnership with Camden County and its Municipal Utilities Authority and the Camden Coalition – to mitigate flooding, create more sustainable infrastructure and turn defunct industrial sites into green spaces.

Read more about PowerCorps Camden and American Water here: http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/