BRYN MAWR, PA, April 30, 2015 -- Today, Aqua America, Inc., one of the largest publicly-traded water utilities in the U.S., announced that its Illinois subsidiary has completed the successful purchase of the municipally-owned North Maine Utilities (NMU) water and wastewater system from the village of Glenview for $22 million. The system serves more than 44,000 people through 4,700 metered water connections and nearly 2,500 wastewater connections.
Aqua Illinois' purchase includes a commitment to freeze rates for NMU customers through June of 2020, excluding any purchased-water increases from the current provider, which will be passed through under a purchased-water surcharge approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission. This agreement addresses Glenview's concern of rate stability for NMU customers. Aqua Illinois has also committed to invest $10 million to construct a needed interconnection with the village to purchase Lake Michigan water from it at a significantly lower price than the projected rate of the current provider.
"Aqua Illinois is excited to be able to serve the residents and businesses of North Maine with quality water and wastewater services, reasonable rates and excellent customer service," said Aqua America Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis. "With more than 125 years of experience in the water industry, we have the operational capacity, technical expertise and resources needed to meet the needs of NMU customers. We look forward to being a community partner with the Village of Glenview for many years to come."
Glenview Village President Jim Patterson highlighted that the village of Glenview had provided greatly needed repairs and improvements to North Maine Utilities during its 17-year ownership, including proactively replacing underground water and sanitary sewer pipes, performing system maintenance and repainting a large water tank.
"We believe NMU customers can benefit from a new owner that has more flexibility, especially to provide rate stability," Patterson said. "It was important that the sale to Aqua include an agreement that NMU be provided with less expensive water from Wilmette via Glenview in the future."
See also: "Aqua America appoints new VP, chief environmental officer"
About Aqua America
Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded water utilities and serves nearly 3 million people in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, and Virginia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR. For more information, visit www.aquaamerica.com.
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