Aqua America

Last updated
Aqua America, Inc.
Public
Traded as
IndustryWater Services
Founded1886
Headquarters Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Key people
Christopher H. Franklin, CEO
RevenueIncrease2.svg US$671M (FY 2009) [1]
Increase2.svgUS$104M (FY 2009) [1]
Total assets Increase2.svgUS$3.76B (FY 2009) [2]
Total equity Increase2.svgUS$1.11B (FY 2009) [2]
Number of employees
1700
Website aquaamerica.com

Aqua America is a water and wastewater utility company that serves about 3 million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. [3] The company provides drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure and services. [4]

Contents

The company began in Pennsylvania and remains headquartered in Bryn Mawr.

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States

Bryn Mawr is a census-designated place (CDP) located across Radnor and Haverford Townships in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue (US-30) and the border with Delaware County. Bryn Mawr is located toward the center of what is known as the Main Line, a group of affluent Philadelphia suburban villages stretching from the city limits to Malvern. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 3,779. Bryn Mawr is home to Bryn Mawr College.

History

The company began January 4, 1886 by the founding of the Springfield Water Company. The company changed its name to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company (PSW). By 1925 the company provided water to 58 municipalities. [5]

The company was incorporated in 1989. [6]

The current CEO, Christopher H. Franklin, took his position in 2015. [7]

The company partners with Penn Virginia operating subsidiaries to provide water to hydraulic fracturing operations in the Marcellus Shale formation. The company commits to transitioning its Pennsylvania vehicle fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) within five years. [8]

Hydraulic fracturing well-stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a hydraulically pressurized liquid

Hydraulic fracturing is a well stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of 'fracking fluid' into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum, and brine will flow more freely. When the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, small grains of hydraulic fracturing proppants hold the fractures open.

Marcellus Formation marcellus shale

The Marcellus Formation or the Marcellus Shale is a Middle Devonian age unit of sedimentary rock found in eastern North America. Named for a distinctive outcrop near the village of Marcellus, New York, in the United States, it extends throughout much of the Appalachian Basin.

Compressed natural gas CNG

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel which can be used in place of gasoline, diesel fuel and propane/LPG. CNG combustion produces fewer undesirable gases than the aforementioned fuels. In comparison to other fuels, natural gas poses less of a threat in the event of a spill, because it is lighter than air and disperses quickly when released. Biomethane – cleaned-up biogas from anaerobic digestion or landfills – can be used.

Acquisitions

In the United States, many water utilities remain publicly owned. Water was supplied by 55,000 separate water systems in 2006. [9] However, US and global companies have business models which involve the privatization of utilities to achieve profitability from economy of scale. Additionally, cash-strapped municipalities see benefit to selling their water supply assets. [10]

From 1993 to 2013 Aqua America completed 300 acquisitions. [11] In recent years the company has purchased smaller private utilities across the 12 states, gradually extending southward. [3] Such acquisition comprises the bulk of Aqua America's stated business model. [12]

In January 1998 Aqua America, then known as the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company (PSW) purchased the West Chester, PA municipal water utility assets. [13] Acquisitions of large private companies included the purchases of AquaSource in 2003, Heater and Florida Water Services in 2004, and the New York Water Service Corporation in 2007. [14] [15] [16] [17]

In October 2018 Aqua annonced that it was going to purchase Peoples Natural Gas in Pittsburgh PA for $4.27 billion dollars. This deal entered Aqua into the competitive Pittsburgh water market while taking their first step into gas utilities. [18]

Subsidiaries

The company's largest subsidiary is Aqua Pennsylvania, which has been a part of Aqua America since 1996 and accounts for slightly more than half of 2007 operating revenue and provides water services to 50% of the company's total customer base. Aqua Pennsylvania operates in the greater urban and suburban Philadelphia area. [19]

The non-utility subsidiary Aqua Resources, Inc. is not regulated. [4] They provide operations and maintenance contracts, liquid waste hauling, and water and wastewater system maintenance and repair. [6]

Complaints

Aqua America has been subject to thousands of complaints both publicly and through the Better Business Bureau and the various state Public utilities commissions over allegations of high prices, interrupted water service and contaminated water. [20] [21] [22] [23]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Aqua America (WTR) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest.
  2. 1 2 Aqua America (WTR) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest.
  3. 1 2 Aqua America About Us Page
  4. 1 2 "Aqua America Acquires Water Systems in Ohio and North Carolina". businesswire.com. 7 Jan 2015. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  5. ↑ "History". aquaamerica.com. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Company Overview of Aqua Resources, Inc". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  7. ↑ www.AquaAmerica.com
  8. ↑ "Aqua America Chairman Cites Water Energy Nexus at CEO Growth Council's "Energy Hub" Conference". finance.yahoo.com. Dec 5, 2014. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  9. ↑ Christopher C. Williams (Oct 16, 2006). "The Lure of Liquid Assets". online.barrons.com/. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  10. ↑ Mike Esterl (Jun 26, 2006). "U.S. water privatizations fail to pan out". post-gazette.com/. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  11. ↑ "Aqua America CEO on Improving the U.S. Water Utility Infrastructure". video.foxbusiness.com. Feb 25, 2013. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  12. ↑ "WTR, 2007, 10-K "Acquisitions and Water Sale Agreements", page 6". Archived from the original on 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  13. ↑ "Form 10-Q May 15, 1998". ir.aquaamerica.com/. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  14. ↑ "Philadelphia Suburban Corporation --PSC-- Acquires AquaSource Water and Wastewater Utilities, Now Operating in 15 States". Aqua America, Inc. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  15. ↑ "Philadelphia Suburban Corporation to Acquire ALLETE's Water and Wastewater Utilities in North Carolina". Aqua America, Inc. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  16. ↑ "Aqua America buys 63 Fla. water works". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  17. ↑ "Aqua America to Acquire New York Water Service Corporation; Valued at $51 Million, Acquisition Expected to Be Immediately Accretive". Aqua America, Inc. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  18. ↑ https://waterfm.com/aqua-america-acquire-peoples-natural-gas-entities/
  19. ↑ "WTR, 2007, 10-K "Business: The Company", page 4". Archived from the original on 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  20. ↑ https://www.wral.com/raleigh-residents-fed-up-with-brown-water-banding-together-to-oppose-possible-rate-increase/17642299/
  21. ↑ https://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/aqua-north-carolina-found-a-legal-way-to-raise-its-ratesandmdashat-customers-expense/Content?oid=3239158
  22. ↑ https://www.bbb.org/us/pa/bryn-mawr/profile/utility-water-company/aqua-america-incorporated-0241-80001244/complaints
  23. ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/aqua-utilities-looks-to-sell-its-florida-water-and-sewer-systems/1252591
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