Illinois American Water President Bruce Hauk today announced the Company’s acquisition of the City of Farmington’s water system. The purchase of the system adds approximately 1,125 new customers to the Company’s customer base in the Peoria District and serves a population of about 2,500 residents.
The Farmington City Council voted in favor of the sale in March 2017 and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the sale for $3.75 million on March 21, 2018. Today, Illinois American Water acquired the water system.
“We look forward to investing in the City of Farmington and ensuring quality water service to our new customers,” said Hauk.
City of Farmington Mayor Kent Kowal also supports the acquisition. He said, “We welcome Illinois American Water and look forward to their team helping us meet our water service needs. Their knowledge and ability to upgrade our aging water system is critical to our community’s economic future.”
Illinois American Water will invest $5 million in the first five years of ownership. This investment will include a hydraulic study to be completed in 2018 with a focus on improving water pressure and fire flow. Investment will also include GIS updates and meter exchanges. In coming years, Illinois American Water will focus on water main replacements and installations to loop water mains.
Roger Goodson, sr. manager of field operations and production for the Peoria District, said, “We are excited to become a member of this vibrant community, not only as the water service provider, but as a good neighbor.”
New customers will soon receive an Illinois American Water welcome packet in the mail. This packet includes information about online account management, billing and more.
The appraisal process used for the Farmington water system was conducted under the supervision of the ICC and established as part of the Illinois Water Systems Viability Act. According to Hauk, this law gives communities an alternative to value their water and/or wastewater system when considering being acquired by an investor-owned water utility. He said, “Previous law only allowed the investor-owned water or sewer utility to pay the original cost minus depreciation to acquire a small system, public or private. Because of this, systems were deprived of receiving adequate value for their system.”
The City of Farmington will be incorporated into the company’s Peoria District, which currently serves residents in Peoria, West Peoria, Bartonville, Bellevue, Rome, Mapleton and parts of several surrounding townships. Dunlap, Hanna City and the Timber Logan Water District are sale for resale (wholesale) customers.
About Illinois American Water - Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,900 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 46 states and Ontario, Canada. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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