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.