BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE: WTR) announced today that its Pennsylvania
subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. (Aqua), has acquired the assets of
the Mifflin Township Water Authority which serves approximately 1,500
residents in Mifflin Township, Columbia County for $1.114 million.
The Authority was a party to a Consent Order and Agreement (COA) with
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) concerning
corrective actions to reduce water loss and unaccounted-for water. Aqua
Pennsylvania and DEP will enter into a COA that will also address
corrective action work and leak detection to reduce the unaccounted-for
water.
"We are glad to be able to purchase the Authority assets and provide a
solution to the water loss that led to a consent order from the
Pennsylvania DEP," said Aqua America Chairman and CEO Nicholas
DeBenedictis. "Aqua is prepared to make the capital improvements
necessary to comply with the COA and provide quality water and reliable
service to our new customers." Aqua already provides water to a number
of communities throughout the Commonwealth including communities within
Columbia County and neighboring Northumberland, Luzerne and Schuylkill
Counties.
Among the future improvements Aqua has planned for Mifflin Township are
the replacement of water meters and capital planning to address issues
pursuant to the COA, which may include the replacement of aged and
undersized mains and water service lines, as well as some fire hydrants,
and upgrades to the treatment facilities. In addition, Aqua will install
a new radio frequency meter reading system on all customer accounts.
Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based publicly-traded water
utilities serving almost 3 million residents in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina,
New York and Georgia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that address, among
other things: the impact of the acquisition on the company and its
ability to comply with the Consent Order and Agreement with the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection an the planned
improvements to the acquired system. There are important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements including: the risk that the
acquired company's business will not be successfully integrated; the
ability of the company to complete planned capital improvements, and
other key factors that we have indicated could adversely affect our
business and financial performance discussed in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, which is on file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Aqua America is not under
any obligation—and expressly disclaims any such obligation—to update or
alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise.
WTRF
Aqua America, Inc.
Gretchen Toner
Manager, Strategic
Communications
610-645-1175
gmtoner@aquaamerica.com
or
Brian
Dingerdissen
Director, Investor Relations
610-645-1191
bjdingerdissen@aquaamerica.com
Source: Aqua America, Inc.
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