Aqua Pennsylvania acquires Limerick Township wastewater assets

Aqua Pennsylvania, the subsidiary of Aqua America, has acquired the 5,400-connection wastewater assets of Limerick Township for $75m.

This is the first deal of Aqua Pennsylvania to close under fair market valuation legislation Act 12, which encourages consolidation in a fragmented water and wastewater market.

The consolidation of the industry enables resources to be shared among a larger service area, which will ultimately stand to benefit utility customers.

Aqua America chairman and CEO Christopher Franklin said: “Aqua is thrilled to welcome our new Limerick customers and employees.

“This purchase was a collaborative effort that will allow us to bring benefits to the Limerick community by leveraging expertise in compliance, large-scale purchasing power and efficiencies in a larger, regional operation.”

Aqua Pennsylvania president Marc Lucca plans to provide an environmental focus to the service they offer to the residents of the township.

Lucca added: “It’s imperative we return treated wastewater back to our rivers and streams cleaner than when we first take it out.

“I welcome our new employees who’ve done a great job ensuring the Limerick system is compliant and well maintained, and look forward to serving our new customers.”

Besides Limerick, Aqua has many fair market value asset purchase agreements, including at Cheltenham, East Bradford and New Garden townships of Pennsylvania, and the village of Manteno in Illinois, which completed earlier this month.

With the completion of these purchases, the company will have around 23,000 new customer connections.

Aqua America is a publicly traded water utility serving almost three million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia.