Aqua America buys Gilbertsville's Superior Water Co. for $16.8M
Aqua America Inc., of Bryn Mawr, has acquired a private Montgomery County water utility that serves a growing part of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Aqua America Inc., of Bryn Mawr, has acquired a private Montgomery County water utility that serves a growing part of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Aqua's Pennsylvania subsidiary bought Superior Water Co. Inc. in Gilbertsville for $16.8 million in stock Monday. Superior's five water systems serve 3,868 customers in Berks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which approved the merger Sept. 17, said the ownership change will be transparent to Superior's customers, who will continue to receive service under the same rates and terms.
The agreement provides for Superior to be operated as Aqua's subsidiary. The companies said the merger would provide economies of scale that would multiply as Superior is folded into Aqua.
Last year, North Coventry Water Authority, whose Chester County territory adjoins Superior's Suburbia water system, protested, then dropped its opposition of the merger. North Coventry said state environmental regulators had found "persistent" water-quality violations in Suburbia's system.
Aqua spokeswoman Donna Alston said there are no longer problems. "Currently, all of the Superior water systems are compliant with state environmental regulations," she said.
Aqua serves three million people in eight states, including 420,000 connections representing a population of 1.4 million in 31 Pennsylvania counties. Last year, it acquired 16 systems that added 10,588 connections to its base.
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