Illinois American Water Acquires Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water District
July 14 2017 - 1:41PM
Business Wire
Acquisition will add about 500 new customers
in the Alton District
Illinois American Water President Bruce Hauk today announced the
company’s acquisition of the Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water
District. The purchase of the system adds approximately 500
customers to the company’s customer base in the Alton District.
In a public referendum on Nov. 3, 2016, residents of Forest
Homes-Maple Park Public Water District voted in favor of dissolving
the water district, and supported the water district selling the
water system to Illinois American Water. The Illinois Commerce
Commission (ICC) approved the sale for $900,000 on June 7, 2017.
Today, Illinois American Water acquired the water system.
Illinois American Water began its partnership with the Forest
Homes-Maple Park Public Water District in the 1980s, providing
water to the district on a sale-for-resale basis.
"We have a strong legacy and presence serving Forest Homes-Maple
Park Public Water District and the surrounding area. Illinois
American Water has been delivering reliable water service to
customers in the Alton District for more than 135 years,” said
Karen Cooper, senior manager of field operations and production.
“Through this acquisition, we will expand our existing footprint
and help ensure local residents have access to a long-term,
reliable water supply for years to come.”
Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water District Board Chairperson
Barb Howard is supportive of the acquisition. She said, “After
careful and thoughtful consideration of the current and future
challenges operating the water utility, we found our customers
would be best served by the sale to Illinois American Water.”
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 Forest Homes-Maple Park
Public Water District 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 Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water District will be
incorporated into the company’s Alton District, which serves
residents in Alton, Godfrey, Grafton and Elsah. Jersey County Rural
Water, Fosterburg Water District and Brighton are sale-for-resale
customers. Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water District residents
will become direct customers of Illinois American Water and receive
their first bill in approximately 30 days. Customers may contact
the company with service requests or questions at 800-422-2782.
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 6,700
dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based
drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an
estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More
information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170714005490/en/
Illinois American WaterKaren Cotton,
309-566-4126Karen.cotton@amwater.com
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