Aston, Parkside back independent CWA

ASTON » Township commissioners and Parkside Borough Council have adopted similar resolutions supporting the May decision of the Chester Water Authority to reject a $250 million buyout offer made by Aqua America.

In Aston, commissioners Vice President Mike Higgins read the resolution which requests CWA not sell its assets or customers to a for-profit company.

“We request that the CWA board continue to protect our township residents and businesses by putting the interests of the taxpayers first when making decisions about the authority’s operations and future,” read Higgins.

And in Parkside, borough Secretary Linda Higgins read a similar statement.

“Council requests the CWA board refrain from selling its customers and assets to a for-profit company,” Higgins read.

Last week, residents packed the Rocco A. Abessinio building on the campus of Neumann University to learn additional details about the offer.

In a press release, Aqua stated its plans to invest $450 million in infrastructure upgrades.

Residents seemed unhappy with the discrepancy of rates between the CWA and Aqua. CWA rates currently range between $35.15 to $41.70 as compared to $65.20 for Aqua.

The CWA dates back to 1866 when an act of assembly permitted the city of Chester to construct a waterworks, servicing about 67 customers with 800,000 gallons of water per day.

Currently, CWA services 42,000 customers and a population of more than 200,000 people in the city of Chester and parts of Delaware and Chester counties.