Aqua Wastewater Management Inc.

Aqua Wastewater Management Inc. was formed in 2005, when Aqua America obtained Concord Wastewater Services and Golden Mechanical Inc. These new businesses were unregulated, and gave Aqua the ability to use its own sludge hauling and collection system maintenance services for its wastewater treatment facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania. The following year, the company made several purchases, the largest being Perna Wastewater Management. This acquisition made Aqua the largest wastewater and septage hauling company in eastern Pennsylvania. In 2007, Aqua expanded its service territory to five states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Maryland; serving thousands of residential, industrial, commercial and municipal clients.
Aqua America embarked on a successful growth strategy in the early 1990s, which has resulted in more than 120 acquisitions and other growth enterprises; more than 90 of which have been completed in the last five years. This growth strategy has allowed the company to achieve an annual customer growth rate of approximately four percent since 1995, and achieve record earnings and above average shareholder return while remaining a low-cost provider of quality drinking water. Going forward, Aqua America remains focused on its strategy of growth and continues to be a leader in the water utility industry. Aqua America has been committed to the preservation and improvement of the environment throughout its history, which spans more than 100 years.
According to Aqua Wastewaster Management’s website, “Aqua is dedicated to providing quality water and wastewater service, in a manner consistent with applicable standards for public health and environmental quality standards, continuing its capital investment in system improvements including the rehabilitation and replacement of key infrastructure and facilities, being the investment of choice among utility investors based on growth in earnings, dividends and total return to shareholders, treating employees fairly, communicating openly and providing opportunities for development and growth to retain a well-trained workforce and the necessary management depth so that succession planning is an integrated element of the culture, ensuring courteous and responsive service to customers, regulators, and public officials, and demonstrating leadership through civic involvement in the communities we serve, acting as stewards of the environment; and being proactive in the development of public policy issues crucial to the success of the water and wastewater industries.”
Aqua Pennsylvania serves more than 1.4 million residents in 30 counties across the Keystone State. In the southeastern division, the counties it includes are Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Berks counties. In the Roaring Creek division the counties included are Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Snyder, Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Schuylkill, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. The water sources that are included in Aqua Wastewater Management are surface water from the Crum, Pickering, Brandywine, Perkiomen, Neshaminy, Ridley and Chester Creeks, Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and the Upper Merion Quarry and the Shenango River in western Pennsylvania and groundwater from 74 wells.
CFO David P. Smeltzer cited the success, on Aqua’s website, of the company’s growth-through achievement and capital investment programs as the main reasons for Aqua America’s net income growth over the past decade. “2009 was the tenth consecutive year Aqua America grew net income and the company was able to raise the dividend for the nineteenth time in the last 18 years while investing $284 million in infrastructure improvements despite the economic slowdown,” said Smeltzer. “In 2010, the trend of net income and dividend growth is expected to continue as the company continues to invest in infrastructure improvements and acquires more water and wastewater systems.” Smeltzer said if normal weather conditions are experienced the company expects net income growth of 5 to 7 percent in the first half of 2010 due to the impact of annualized rate awards received and customer growth.
Back in March of 2009, Aqua America announced its Pennsylvania subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., attained the resources of the W.P. Water Company, Inc. and W.P. Sanitary Company, Inc., which provides water and wastewater services to approximately 550 residents in the Washington Park Development in Wyoming County and the Sleepy Hollow Development in Luzerne County, in a contract valued at $185,000. Aqua's purchases of troubled water and wastewater systems are a result of Aqua stepping up to assist state regulatory agencies and government officials to resolve ongoing service problems for customers of these systems. Aqua plans to invest approximately $1.2 million to replace and recover the wastewater treatment plant and $900,000 to upgrade the water treatment, supply and distribution facilities. Additional improvements are being made to the wastewater collection system once the performance of the new wastewater treatment facility improves and demonstrates that its impact on the environment has been resolved. The company has applied for low interest loans through Pennsylvania's Infrastructure Investment Authority, which is supported by Economic Stimulus Funds, to finance the required improvements.
Aqua Wastewaster Management Inc., takes part in many other projects every year, another one including a project working with Wawa Inc. They renewed an agreement with Wawa to provide grease-removal and septic tank pumping and cleaning services for 172 Wawa stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Under the agreement, Aqua cleans and removes septic and grease waste from the contracted stores. Service includes waste removal, power washing the tank, and jetting the inlet and outlet lines. Aqua also provides 24/7 emergency response to Wawa. Also, in May of 2009, Aqua Wastewater Management, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with Mopac of Souderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a division of Smithfield Beef Group, that will allow both companies to provide specific grease-removal services to customers.
One of out every five toilets in the U.S. is leaking at any point in time. Leaking toilets are the number one cause of high water bills. Not only are high water bills a negative outcome to this problem, but it can lead to dry wells, and saturated septic systems. The average toilet wastes 100 gallons of water per day, which equals about 40,000 gallons of water per year, enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool. The total U.S. water loss due to leaking toilets has been estimated to be as high at 5 billion gallons per day, or nearly two trillion gallons per year. This is why Aqua has partnered with Solutions LLC of West Chester to educate customers about the LeakAlertor. The LeakAlertor is the first fully automatic, electronic leak detection device for toilets that installs in seconds.
Water is connected to all aspects of our lives. We use it to not only bathe and garden, but we also need water for nourishment and even to cook. That’s why it is crucial to use water efficiently and not waste any. By monitoring a toilet for leaks that are the main cause of water loss, we can ensure that this great amount of water is not being wasted, and being conserved to be put to use for our daily needs. The Leak Alerter and Aqua are coming together to promote water conservation, and to reach out to the community. For every Leak Alerter purchased, $2.00 of the purchase price will be donated to Helping Hand. Helping Hand is Aqua’s low income assistance program. The program is designed to enable those less fortunate to manage their water bills.
Aqua Wastewater Management Inc., has been working for years and years to ensure that Philadelphia’s water facilities are kept in tip top shape, and that the water supply is usable and clean for the communities and industries who utilize them. Many projects as stated above, have been granted to the Aqua Wastewater Management Inc., and the outcome has been very beneficial to not only the company, but the local residents in need of clean water.