Aqua America PA Acquires Gouldsboro System
Aqua America, Inc. (Aqua) recently announced that its Pennsylvania subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., has completed the acquisition of the Gouldsboro Water Company, which serves approximately 425 people in Lehigh Township, Wayne County, for $65,000.
The purchase is the company’s second acquisition in Wayne County in the past six months. Aqua Pennsylvania purchased the Honesdale Water Company, which serves approximately 6,000 people within portions of Honesdale Borough and Texas Township, Wayne County, in September 2008.
“The Gouldsboro acquisition expands the our service area in Wayne County and allows us to increase our economies of scale in that area by filling in our footprint in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Aqua America Chair and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas DeBenedictis.
Among the capital investments Aqua Pennsylvania has planned for Gouldsboro is the installation of new radio frequency (RF) meters for customers, who are now billed flat rates per fixture. Additionally, the company has plans to make water supply, treatment, storage, and distribution system improvements.
In 2008, Aqua America subsidiaries completed a total of nine acquisitions in Pennsylvania, Texas, Indiana and Florida, serving approximately 18,000 additional people.
Additionally, its subsidiary companies have completed more than 20 growth ventures that involve agreements with developers in Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, and North Carolina.
Aqua America is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility holding company with operating subsidiaries serving approximately three million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, Maine, Missouri, and South Carolina.