Aqua America Completes Expansion in Texas with Purchase of Water Systems from American Water

Aqua America, Inc. WTR announced today that its Texas subsidiary has completed the purchase of American Water Works Company, Inc.'s AWK regulated Texas operations, significantly expanding its customer base in one of its fastest growing and energy-rich states. Aqua Texas has added 51 water and five wastewater systems, which serve 4,200 water and 1,100 wastewater customers (approximately 16,000 people) from Texas American for approximately $6 million—the approximate book value of the assets. The systems, which will be run as a single unit out of Aqua's Houston office, serve parts of Brazoria, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda and Montgomery counties in the greater Houston metropolitan area. The acquisition follows Aqua's December 2010 acquisition of water and wastewater system assets of Gray Utility, which served approximately 6,300 people in Chambers, Jefferson and Liberty counties along the Gulf Coast near Baytown, which is about 40 miles from downtown Houston. Collectively in 2010, Aqua Texas purchased 10 systems and increased its customer base by approximately six percent, nearly 90 percent of which was from acquisitions. Since entering the state in 2003, Aqua will have grown its customer base by 50 percent upon closing the Texas American transaction.