WaterBriefs: Aqua America to acquire Aquarion Water of Sea Cliff

In other news below:
-- Municipality of Nynashamn joins Bentley's Municipal License Subscription program
-- AWWA picks Pennsylvania Convention Center as site for 2017 convention
-- Lamson & Sessions retains Perella Weinberg Partners to explore strategic options
-- Ashland introduces mobile water analysis system in China
-- TCEQ agrees on revised plan to protect aquifer, fight Helotes fire
-- Northport Sewer dispute offers hard lessons to Michigan city
-- Organoclay as oxidative pretreatment aids performance against oily wastes
-- LCRA outlines water management actions, urges conservation with drought
-- Millipore's Laboratory Water Business drives growth

• Aqua America to acquire Aquarion Water of Sea Cliff -- Acquisition to add 13,000 residents; expected to be immediately accretive -- BRYN MAWR, PA, Feb. 12, 2007 -- On the heels of its January announcement of the closing of its New York Water Service Company acquisition which serves 135,000 residents in Long Island, Aqua America Inc. today announced that its New York subsidiary, Aqua New York Inc., has reached an agreement with Kelda Group Inc. to acquire the nearby Aquarion Water Company of Sea Cliff Inc., also on Long Island. Aqua America will pay $7.3 million, subject to a target working capital adjustment, and assume no debt in the transaction.

Sea Cliff provides drinking water to approximately 13,000 residents in the villages of Sea Cliff, Glenwood Landing and Glen Head in Nassau County, New York just north of its New York Water operation.

"Aquarion is a well-run company and we are excited about the opportunity to own this part of their operation," said Aqua America Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis. "Sea Cliff provides Aqua New York with a 'tuck-in' acquisition that we expect to be immediately-accretive as we continue to implement Aqua America's growth strategy."

Aquarion Water Company President and Chief Executive Officer Charles V. Firlotte said, "We are pleased with this development, because Aqua America is a quality company and a well-established and well-respected leader in the drinking water industry. We are very confident that Aqua America's personnel will provide water and service of the highest quality. In the meantime, we are looking forward to working closely with them to ensure a smooth transition."

The agreement is subject to approval by the New York Public Service Commission. DeBenedictis said the company plans to close the transaction this year.

In January, a division of Aqua Virginia, Inc. purchased the water and wastewater assets at the Lake Holiday residential community in Frederick County near Winchester, which provide water and wastewater services to approximately 2,000 residents of the private, gated community located around a 240-acre lake, which includes more than 1,000 unoccupied and build-able lots.

Aqua America Inc. (www.aqauaamerica.com) is a publicly-traded water utility holding company, with operating subsidiaries serving approximately 2.8 million residents in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Maine, Missouri, and South Carolina. Aqua America is listed on both the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges.

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Among other recent headlines:

• Municipality of Nynashamn joins Bentley's Municipal License Subscription program -- Developing municipality near Stockholm gets unlimited access to comprehensive GIS, engineering software portfolio for fixed annual fee based on population -- EXTON, PA, Feb. 12, 2007 -- Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that the municipality of Nynashamn, a community of 25,000 near Stockholm, has joined Bentley's Municipal License Subscription (MLS) program. Commenting on the municipality's MLS, Tom Lillhannus, mapping and surveying engineer for Nynashamn, said, "In the next few years, we will handle more than 60 projects, including major ones crucial to the growth of Nynashamn's infrastructure. Successful completion of this ambitious workload will require the broad range of advanced software solutions readily available through Bentley's MLS. Moreover, our new MLS will provide us with a greatly needed standardized platform that allows us to easily share project information -- internally and externally -- in a variety of formats"...
Also see:
-- "Bentley acquires C.W. Beilfuss & Associates"
-- "Shibaura Institute of Technology Selects Bentley's BE Careers Network Program"

• American Water Works Association selects Pennsylvania Convention Center as site for 2017 convention -- Philadelphia's former water commissioner Bill Marrazzo and regional business leaders helped secure group; PCVB announces "Bring it Home" campaign -- PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 12, 2007 -- Officials from the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB), Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, and regional business leaders today announced that AWWA has selected Philadelphia as the host city for its 2017 convention in the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center. The AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition will be held June 11-14, 2017. The event is expected to attract more than 14,000 attendees utilizing more than 27,000 total room nights with an economic impact of more than $30 million for the Philadelphia region...

• Lamson & Sessions retains Perella Weinberg Partners to explore strategic, financial alternatives -- CLEVELAND, Feb. 12, 2007 -- Lamson & Sessions today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the company's management and financial advisors to explore a range of strategic and financial alternatives to enhance shareholder value. These alternatives include, but are not limited to, a sale of certain assets or the entire company, formation of joint ventures, a change to the company's capital structure, and continued implementation of Lamson & Sessions' current strategic business plan. The company has retained Perella Weinberg Partners as financial advisor in this evaluation process. Lamson & Sessions cautions that there can be no assurance that the exploration of alternatives will result in a transaction, and the company intends to disclose developments regarding the process only if and when the board of directors has approved a specific transaction or course of action...

• Ashland introduces mobile water analysis system in China -- SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 12, 2007 -- Water used for cooling systems and various processes in the power industry, steel mills and petrochemical plants must be properly treated to prevent equipment fouling and corrosion. Ashland (Nanjing) Chemical Company (ANCC) is literally bringing better water treatment technologies to manufacturing sites in China, by introducing a new mobile water monitoring system. ANCC is a business unit of Drew Industrial, a business group of Ashland Water Technologies, a division of Ashland Inc. Housed inside a truck, ANCC's new mobile PULSE(TM) II water fouling monitor technology connects to a manufacturer's cooling water system and evaluates equipment fouling potential and other key performance indicators...
Also see: "Ashland Acquires the Assets of Nanjing Clear Environment Protection Co. Ltd. to Increase its Water Technologies Business in China"

• TCEQ agrees on revised plan to protect aquifer, fight Helotes fire -- With new safeguards in place, SAWS trustees vote to allow use of SAWS water at site -- SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 11, 2007 -- After a week of intense discussions and hard decisions focused on the health and well-being of area residents, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has agreed to modifications to the current firefighting plan that will both safeguard the Edwards Aquifer and allow firefighting efforts to move forward immediately. To voice their cautious-yet-optimistic acceptance of the revised plan, SAWS Trustees voted today to rescind their previous resolution authorizing court action to prevent water use on the burning debris pile. This decision will allow TCEQ to use SAWS water on the fire under very strictly regulated and monitored conditions, as outlined in the modified plan. Board Chairman Alex Briseño said the firm position taken by SAWS and the City of San Antonio earlier in the week has resulted in a plan of action that can accomplish everyone's goals...

• Northport Sewer dispute's hard lessons -- Small communities need independent, conflict-free expertise for big projects -- TRAVERSE CITY, MI, Feb. 11, 2007 -- Julie Hay makes her multimedia debut in the Michigan Land Use Institute -e-newsletter with slides and narration recounting how Northport backed itself into a corner with its decision to build a much-needed sewer system. Julie says many villages can learn from Northport's hard lesson, which divided the community and will cost a pretty penny. Click through, unless you're just too drained...

• Organoclay as oxidative pretreatment aids performance against oily wastes -- FERNDALE, MI, Feb. 10, 2007 -- In his latest e-Bulletin, George Alther, president of Biomin Inc., focuses on oxidative systems used in water treatment to inactivate (kill) microorganisms as well as to break down long-chain organic molecules. Since these treatment methods fair more poorly in addressing waters with oily wastes, he discusses use of organoclays as pretreatment to them. A tutorial on Biomin Column Treatment Design is provided at Biomininc.com. click here...

• LCRA outlines water management actions, urges conservation, prepares public for what to expect if drought continues -- AUSTIN, TX, Feb. 9, 2007 -- Citing record-low flows into the region's water supply reservoirs and the first-ever LCRA curtailment of water sent to rice farmers, LCRA General Manager Joe Beal warned during a press conference today that the two-year drought still gripping Central Texas could trigger stricter conservation measures. "We are following our state-approved water management plan to ensure that we can continue to provide water to our customers, we have asked our customers to conserve water, and for the first time ever, we have limited the amount of water we will send downstream for farmers," Beal said. He stood among representatives from various lake and river interest groups who came from as far up the river basin as Lake Buchanan to as far downstream of Austin as the coastal rice-growing region in Matagorda County. The representatives briefly discussed how the drought has affected them and could continue to affect them personally. Last year was a record low for the amount of water flowing into these lakes -- the lowest since 1942 when the two water supply reservoirs, lakes Buchanan and Travis, began operating in tandem. So while the Austin area received heavy rain early in 2007, many Central Texans may not realize that the rain did not fall in the areas it was needed to recharge the region's water supply...

• Millipore's Laboratory Water Business Unit driving growth with innovative solutions -- BILLERICA, MA, Feb. 8, 2007 -- Millipore is launching a series of innovative, new products designed to provide scientists and laboratory professionals with economical and reliable sources of highly purified water. The company's Laboratory Water Business Unit is one of four business units in Millipore's Bioscience Division, which helps to improve productivity and results in clinical, analytical and research laboratories. The strength of the unit drove 10% growth in the division during 2006, which was the division's highest level of annual growth during the past five years...
Also see: "Millipore opens $50 million Research and Development Center"

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