East Norriton was acquired under Pennsylvania's Act 12, fair market valuation legislation, which encourages consolidation in a fragmented water and wastewater industry, allowing resources to be shared among a larger service area, ultimately benefiting utility customers.
The acquisition is the second for Essential's water and wastewater division this year. In January, Aqua Ohio purchased the City of Campbell's water treatment plant and distribution system, which serves about 3,200 connections in Mahoning County, for $7.5 million.
Aqua Pennsylvania recently received conditional acceptance of its application to acquire the wastewater assets of the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA) for $276.5 million, from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
DELCORA serves a population of approximately 500,000 people in 42 municipalities in Southeast Pennsylvania. Once completed, it would be the largest municipal transaction for Aqua America and the largest water/wastewater municipal transaction in Pennsylvania's history.