Sunlight the best disinfectant for DELCORA talks
There are 1.8 billion reasons to sell DELCORA.
That’s if you listen to the folks who run the Delaware County Regional Water Control Authority, the agency that handles the bulk of the county’s wastewater.
That’s the price tag officials are looking at for improvements to the system mandated by the federal Environment Protection Agency. It’s not just DELCORA. Lots of smaller, municipal agencies. They’re all in the same boat, in a matter of speaking.
They are staring at a massive bill to bring their systems into compliance with the new federal mandates over the next two decades.
That’s a lot of money down the drain. Ratepayers, many of whom are not exactly “flush” with cash, likely would end up footing much of the bill.
That’s why DELCORA officials looked around for a possible savior. They didn’t have to look far. Local officials announced a few weeks ago that they were entering into six weeks of talks with Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater that may – or may not – result in a sale or merger. If the name is familiar, it’s not by accident. Aqua is quickly becoming the heavyweight champion in the region’s water empire. You might recall they roiled the waters of the Chester Water Authority with an unsolicited $320 million offer to buy that iconic Delco utility. The CWA board rejected that offer back in 2017, but Aqua did not go away for long. When CWA announced a deal with the city of Chester to avoid a potential sale of assets by the city, Aqua went to court to block the deal. The city, which is trying furiously to exit “distressed city” status under the state’s Act 47, decided to seek bids to buy CWA. Guess who was first in line? Yep, that would be Aqua.
Being a heavyweight in the utility business is one thing, but a lot of DELCORA workers and local officials just don’t want them acting like a “heavy.”
If DELCORA officials, who should be credited with doing their due diligence and looking out for their rate payers’ pocketbooks, made a mistake here, it’s in giving the perception that this was being done in secret.
Workers complained they only learned of the talks when it showed up in this newspaper.
DELCORA officials don’t see it what way.
“We were just looking out for the residents,” said Bob Willert, DELCORA’s executive director. “We are being transparent and have been transparent for the past two years,” which is how long DELCORA officials have been playing with the numbers in the five major upgrades the agency must perform to remain in EPA compliance.
It was a sudden spike in those projected costs in 2017 that created more of a sense of urgency, according to Michael DeSantis, DELCORA’s director of operations and maintenance.
“What this did was force DELCORA to say, ‘Wait a minute, this is untenable.’ You’re looking at $1.2 billion when you roll up these numbers. It’s the best estimate we can make at this point. We have to go by that. We just can’t sit and wait. You have to plan.”
Critics of the plan, including workers and some elected officials, don’t so much question the need to consider a sale or merger, but the way it was carried out, and the fact that DELCORA is dealing exclusively with Aqua. They wonder why the firm did not solicit bids instead.
DELCORA officials insist the bottom line was trying to protect rate payers from a huge spike in their monthly bills.
As you might expect, this has not gone unnoticed by elected officials, including those hoping to be elected to Delaware County Council this November.
Democrats have slammed what they refer to as “secret” talks and are urging DELCORA officials to enter an “open and transparent process that allows input from workers, ratepayers and the public.”
A spokesman for the Republican candidates fired back that it was interesting that Democrats are raising their voices about DELCORA but have been largely silent on the proposed deal that would allow the city of Chester to be bailed out by the ratepayers of Chester Water Authority.
Of course, DELCORA has long been considered a Republican stronghold and source of patronage jobs. Willert is head of the Ridley Republican Party. Meanwhile, Chester is led by Democratic Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland.
Right now it’s what workers don’t know that is bothering them. They are fearing for their jobs and are asking company officials to keep them in the loop. Many have stated flatly that they oppose any sale.
DELCORA officials have vowed to meet with the rank-and-file and update them on the talks soon. We urge them to do just that.
No one wants to see jobs go down the drain. At the same time, officials can’t be blamed for keeping an eye on the bottom line and protecting ratepayers.
That is the tightrope DELCORA officials find themselves walking. They say they are looking out for everyone’s bottom line. Workers and some officials say something does not smell right.
They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. When it comes to the county’s wastewater, an open, transparent process that includes all parties would go a long way toward preventing any unneeded drama hitting the fan.