North suburban Glenview has privatized its water and wastewater system, selling ownership of its North Maine Utilities infrastructure to the Illinois subsidiary of Aqua America, Inc. for $22 million.
According to an Aqua America press release, the company has agreed to lock in rates for customers through June of 2020. Glenview’s system, which contains 4,700 metered water connections and almost 2,500 wastewater connections, serves more than 44,000 people. Aqua America has committed to a $10 million infrastructure investment that will allow Glenview to purchase Lake Michigan water that is more affordable than that of the municipality’s current provider.
It was not immediately clear from which entity Glenview will be purchasing the Lake Michigan-sourced water.
Glenview Village President Jim Patterson in the release described the privatization as being motivated by the desire to have an operator with more “flexibility” running the system and that can “provide rate stability.”
Aqua America’s infrastructure serves more than 3 million people in the United States. The company since 1999 has made 26 acquisitions in Illinois. Aqua’s Illinois unit provides services to about 175,000 people in the state.
Aqua America Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis said in the release touted Aqua’s ability to run the North Maine Utilities system. “With more than 125 years of experience in the water industry, we have the operation capacity, technical expertise and resources needed to meet the needs of NMU customers,” he said. “We look forward to being a community partner with the Village of Glenview for many years to come.”
-Tom Butala