Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Aqua Pa. plans $323M in capital investments in 2019
Projects are part of a $555M program in 8 states
BRYN MAWR >> Aqua Pennsylvania plans to invest $323 million in water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades in Pennsylvania in 2019.
That figure includes nearly $293 million in investments in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
The announcement was made by parent company Aqua America during the seventh annual Infrastructure Week, aimed at raising awareness of the critical state of infrastructure across the United States.
The Pennsylvania investments are part of the company’s plan to spend $555 million to improve systems across its eight state footprint.
“Our mission is protecting and providing earth’s most valuable resource — delivering water to customers across the state. What does that mean? When we take it out of our creeks and streams and treat and deliver it, we are bound to customers and have a commitment to environment,” Marc Lucca, Aqua Pennsylvania president, said in an interview with MediaNews Group.
As infrastructure pipes below ground age, according to Lucca, they leak and become more susceptible to main breaks.
“As it leaks, it is wasted — it is lost water. It is water we have taken, we treat and it never gets to our customers,” he said. “When we allow water to escape, we miss the mark to handle resources in a responsible way.”
The condition of water infrastructure in the U.S. has been well documented, according to the company. In a recent study published by Utah State University, researchers found water main break rates have increased 27% in the past six years alone. The EPA also reports that there are approximately 240,000 water main breaks per year in the U.S., with approximately $2.6 billion lost as water mains leak trillions of gallons of treated drinking water.
In 2019, a large part of Aqua Pennsylvania’s $323 million capital infrastructure program will be spent replacing aging water mains. Aqua credits its ongoing main replacement program with a dramatic reduction in service interruptions caused by main breaks in southeastern Pennsylvania.
According to Lucca, in 2000, the number of main breaks per 100 miles of pipe was 25. Through the end of 2018, the company had invested $1.2 billion, resulting in a 60% reduction in water main breaks.
“As we have invested we have seen it come down to 10 breaks per 100 miles, which means we’re seeing more water getting to customers,” Lucca said. “We’re also beginning to see a reduction in main breaks and customer complaints related to older pipes.”
In 2019, the company plans to replace 4.6 miles of main in Bucks, 7 miles of main in Chester, 42.4 miles of main in Delaware and 29.2 miles of main in Montgomery counties. Between 2019 and 2023, 600 miles of water mains will be replaced in Pennsylvania.
Lucca said the water main replacements are not a new focus for the company.
“We started an aggressive main replacement in the early 1990s, continually replacing old and outdated material,” he said.
Lucca said water mains tend to break in cast iron pipes, due to their “extended use and brittle nature.”
In 2008, Aqua Pennsylvania had 2,000 miles of installed cast iron pipe and by the end of 2018; it had less than 1,200 miles of cast iron pipe.
Several water main replacement programs are currently underway across the region, including:
• The replacement of aging 6-inch cast iron water mains in Whitemarsh, Montgomery County. The $860,000 project, which will replace the cast iron with 3,423 feet of 8-inch ductile iron pipe, began the week of May 13 and will be completed in September.
• The replacement of aging 6-inch cast iron water mains in Abington, Montgomery County. The $973,000 project, which will replace the cast iron with 4,600 feet of 8-inch ductile iron pipe, began the week of April 22 and will be completed in August.
• The replacement of an 8-inch cast iron water main on Gay Street in West Chester, Chester County. The $600,000 project, which replaced the cast iron with 1,600 feet of 8-inch ductile iron pipe, began in January and will be completed by the end of this month.
Water mains aren’t the only focus of work during 2019 for Aqua Pennsylvania crews. Across Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, the nearly $293 million investment will include water mains, water and wastewater, plants, wells, tanks, pipes and meters.
Currently underway is a $10 million upgrade of the Upper Merion Water Treatment Plant to upgrade the electrical, pumping and treatment systems at the Montgomery County plant. The project began in February and is expected to be completed by year-end.
Lucca said infrastructure and equipment upgrades are critical work, and Aqua America is part of a national conversation with water and wastewater organizations like the National Association of Water Companies and the American Waterworks Association. He said it is possible to “get ahead” of the nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure issues.
“I think we can tackle it successfully. The commitment has to be made to improve infrastructure,” he said, adding that Aqua Pennsylvania has invested more than $2 billion in infrastructure since 2011. “It’s money we invested that helps us get ahead of the issue.”
In August, Aqua Pennsylvania filed a request with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to increase rates for water and wastewater customers, citing the recovery of that infrastructure investment in distribution and treatment systems as a primary reason for the request.
Following nine months of review, the Public Utility Commission approved May 9 a joint settlement in the case. In its ruling, the commission voted to approve an annual water revenue increase of $42.3 million, and an annual wastewater revenue increase of $4.7 million, for a combined annual revenue increase of $47 million. The settlement is $24.8 million less than the company had requested in its original filing.
Lucca said the outcome of the rate case was “reasonable.”
“We will continue to invest because we believe it is the right thing to do, and we’re seeing positive results,” he said.
Headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Aqua Pennsylvania has approximately 450,000 water and wastewater customers throughout Pennsylvania, serving approximately 1.4 million people in 32 counties. For more information visit AquaAmerica. com