Water is a valuable public asset which should be available to all, not sold to the highest bidder to exploit for profits.
STOP BIG WATER
Pennsylvania water and wastewater ratepayers are seeing skyrocketing costs when their local water or sewer utility is sold to a large for-profit, investor-owned utility. i.e - Big Water.
These sales are driven by MONEY. Profits for the purchasing utility and a large sum of money for local politicians. The ratepayer is left to pay the bill.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP
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BIG WATER
Large, for-profit, investor-owned water and sewer utilities = Big Water. They are gobbling up non-profit municipal systems to grow their profits. These sales are driven by purely by MONEY. The ratepayer usually has no say in the deal, but is stuck with large rate increases to pay for Big Water's increased costs and profits.
This Must Be Stopped
THE DECK IS STACKED AGAINST US
Opposing water and wastewater privatization is difficult. Big Water always enters with the upper hand.
To avoid an unwanted takeover and the skyrocketing costs that go with it, ratepayers need to get involved and act fast.
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So, What Should You Do?
If your system is sold, somebody is going to pay substantially increased costs via their water or sewer rates.
Our data show that an OBJECTIVE evaluation of
the costs and benefits of a municipal utility sale will show
that the costs will outweigh any benefits.
This should be the main focus of any opposition.
Do not accept what the buyer and seller are telling you at face value.
Question Everything
There Is Strength
In Numbers
Organize Organize Organize
KWA - Keep Water Affordable
KWA is an informal confederation of three neighbors in the southeastern Pennsylvania Township of New Garden. We formed in late 2021 when we learned about a sewer rate increase coming our way. Aqua Pennsylvania and New Garden Township had agreed on the sale of our sewer system during April 2016. Due to legal issues, the sale was not executed until the end of 2020.
In August-2021 Aqua filed for a rate increase. They proposed to increase our rates by 37%. This was a bit of “rate shock” for us, based on what we had been told prior to the sale. We began digging into the sale and rate filing documents. What emerged is not a pretty picture of how Big Water operates in Pennsylvania.
When the rate increases were finalized, everyone using more than 1,000 gallons/quarter (i.e., just about everyone) had their rates more than double versus what they were paying at the time the sale was agreed to. If the proposed 37% increase was shocking, guess how we felt when these bills were received.
We are now dedicated to helping ratepayers in other municipalities avoid a similar fate. Customers of municipal water and sewer systems need to understand what their future costs will be if Big Water buys their system. We believe that they would turn a sale down flat in the blink of an eye if they knew the true story. Our mission is to educate people about our story and the stories of ratepayers in other municipalities who have been victimized by Big Water. This website is dedicated to that.