Sewer Sale
Please feel free to
send your information to us and please be sure
to tell us about any information you believe to be
incorrect -
contact
us
Townships throughout Montgomery
County
have
sold - or considered selling their systems, much to the
dismay of the taxpayers, who largely believe taxes/sewer fees
will go up if this happens - which oftne has been the case.
I had 4 sources, as of 11-3-19 tell me
Abington Township was considering
the sale of the sewer system
--- figures were
apparently tossed around in some conversations .... .
Please be sure to note this
was
never officially declared and
in fact was officially denied. I have seen no documents
for either argument . Our
Wastewater Manager told me they would NOT be considering it . It
is much more economical to run our own system.
Considering
the sources that said they overheard discussions, I believe that
it was "discussed", but that may be all there was to it -- just
speculation.
On the
other hand, it should be of concern to us all that in Abington
we are paying to maintain our system well ( we hope)
but simultaneously our water bills reflect the Aqua costs for
all the failing systems where they are spreading hte costs out
over the entire service area that includes us.
If you
hear anything at all about this issue the sooner you let the rest of
us know, the better . Many, many millions of dollars could be
at stake here over-all ---- via higher sewer and water
costs for us individually, while
for the Commissioners, if we were to sell for $90M or similar, some huge part
of that sale price would appear
like a Christmas gift in their “spendable cash pile".
The giant Aqua PA corporation, who is now is asking to
mix sewer and water revenues to further hide transparency
of costs,
our voices are already so tiny that people can’t even get
their attention when bills mysteriously
double, as many
recently did. We
simply have zero oversight of this process because we cannot get
a webpage with a full and open discussion on our Township site
about it .
8-17-18 Aqua Pennsylvania, which
filed for a 15.4 percent water rate increase
on Aug. 17, has 450,000 customers.
https://fusion.inquirer.com/philly/business/aqua-pa-water-rate-increase-puc-20180817.html
Cheltenham sold their sewer for $50 M
- had to pay $30 M toward the repairs of it. Aqua will
be paying $80 to 100M
in repairs to put it in shape, I understand. The
$20M
Cheltenham Commissioners had left over from the sale is simply
100 % up to the
Commissioners to decide how to spend.
There is no requirement that they return that $ to the
taxpayers …. who are almost guaranteed to have
far higher bills in the future.
The Township officials said they might have gone bankrupt
without the sale .
But in the end the residents still have to pay for water, and
at least some of the repairs, whether it
belongs to Aqua or to Cheltenham …… they
just have less control now. For Aqua the benefit comes
in being able to distribute their costs, as mentioned
above, over a wider base.
As Aqua seeks to distribute out the cost of paying for faulty systems like Cheltenham's,
there is no semblace of fairness. Our Wastewater manager could
not tell me how Abington, who fully runs its own system, would
be impacted in this effort by Aqua to distribute the debt
from the faulty systems being purchased over their entire
service area.
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
A
PRETTY SOUR HISTORY
2002
2002 - Upper Dublin sold
its sewer to Bucks County Water and Sewer authority and
has seen regular rate increases - (double digits later in 2014
-2016 . It was kept artificially low for 12 years - that expired
in 2014 . 2015 to 2016 they rose 19 % and were
projected to go 14 % on topp of that in 2017
https://www.montgomerynews.com/amblergazette/news/sewer-rate-increase-in-upper-dublin-part-of-three-year-plan/article_3f3186ec-52f3-5c63-9ee8-b54577dd18bc.html
2012
2012 An act was passed that
allows a utility to spread the acquisition costs to all its
ratepayers across the state, & created an industry-friendly
environment for private water utilities to expand their reach.
2016
2016
Act 12 passed - a state Law encouraged the
consolidation of the smaller water and wastewater systems
under private ownership
2016 Springfield (Montco) also sold
theirs to the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority
https://www.springfieldmontco.org/departments/building-zoning/sewer-related-rules-regulations
/
But the invoice came due this year when residential
sewer bills jumped by 115 percent, matching the rates
paid by other BCWSA customers.
"It was a sleight of hand, a tax increase by another
name," said Jonathan Cobb, a Springfield commissioner
who called the sewer-system sale a "shortsighted
gimmick" when he won election in 2017. "I'd much rather
have the asset under control of the township."
2017
4-5-17 Conshohocken's Sewer System
Purchases West Conshohocken System: The acquisition for
$9.5 million expected in June or July 2017 will expand the
Borough of Conshohocken's existing customer base of 3,100 by
approximately 800 to 3,900 in all. The Conshohocken Borough
Authority has kept rates flat for the last five years. Prior to
a change in its rate structure in 2012, the Authority had not
increased rates in 20 years. On average, customers pay
approximately $370 per year for sewer service.
,https://patch.com/pennsylvania/plymouthwhitemarsh/conshohocken-borough-authority-buys-west-conshohocken-sewer-system?fbclid=IwAR0m3UOsXEEYyhLFNqngCqgbGiaswPDVddLrblh3zGn4RyK9GrxfDN4p1u8
2018
9-5-18
Pennsylvania American has 658,000 water and wastewater
customers. Conshohocken Borough Authority Bought West
8-17-18 Aqua Pennsylvania, which
filed for a 15.4 percent water rate increase
on Aug. 17, has 450,000 customers.
https://fusion.inquirer.com/philly/business/aqua-pa-water-rate-increase-puc-20180817.html
2018 Limerick with 5400 customers faced an
84 % bill increase soon after selling to Aqua, generating
$75.1M to pay for a new Township building and 2 Fire Stations
w/raising taxes ( the tax hike will be in sewer bill hikes
later)
2018 New Garden, Chester
County,
& Bradford,
Chester County,and Cheltenham in Montgomery County
are underway selling to Aqua .
Pennsylvania American Water, the state's largest private
operator, is buying the sewer systems in Sadsbury Township in
Chester County, Exeter in Berks County, and two small systems in
Northumberland County.
2019
12-19 Cheltenham sold their Sewer
to Aqua PA for 50.25 Million
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191219005799/en/Aqua-Americas-Pennsylvania-Subsidiary-Completes-Purchase-of-Cheltenham-Township-Wastewater-System
The
Office of Consumer Advocate, an arm of the attorney general,
has sued the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
to block Aqua's $29.5 million acquisition of the New Garden
Township sewer system in southern Chester County, saying that
for this generation of customers, the
sale will bring only higher rates.
2020
2-20 Jenkintown, as
of 2020, has had the issue under
discussion . (anyone have the current update ?)
https://www.montgomerynews.com/news/jenkintown-borough-council-sale-of-regional-wastewater-treatment-assets-detailed/article_4880b21c-46ae-11ea-b15b-d77cd042b82d.html
4-29-20 Pottsgrove's system for sale
to American Water's PA subsidiary
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2020/04/29/american-water-to-buy-montgomery-county-wastewater.html
5-18-20 Delco Dems Make A
surprize Move to Block Sewer Sale
https://www.inquirer.com/business/delaware-county-delcora-sale-aqua-pennsylvania-20200518.html
12-20 NO SALE in Norristown -
In December 2020, the residents group NOPE won a victory
against the privatization of their sewers. See:
https://www.stopthesewersale.com/ Norristown is a
HOME RULE CHARTER municipality which allows ballot issues and
referendums .
2021
1-21 Conshohocken - January
20, 2021 The issue of a sale will appear again in
Conshohocken
https://morethanthecurve.com/conshohockens-borough-council-taking-steps-to-consider-the-sale-of-sewer-system/
3-1-21 Opposition to the Sale in Conschocken gets more organized
https://morethanthecurve.com/opposition-to-the-potential-sale-of-the-sewer-system-in-conshohocken-gets-more-organized/
3-1-21 COPE :
Conshohocken Opposes Privatization Efforts
Conshocken Residents Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cope2021
Conshocken residents won their battle with the help of NOPE
5-2-21
In Philly suburbs, sewer systems are for sale, and citizens push
back, fearing rate hikes
https://www.inquirer.com/business/sewer-system-privatizations-aqua-conshohocken-norristown-chester-20210502.html
2022
1-25-22- Article in the Guardian chronicles the
takeovers around the nation :
Corporate vultures’: how Americans
fearing higher water bills are fighting takeovers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/25/corporate-vultures-americans-fearing-higher-water-bills-fight-takeovers?fbclid=IwAR1PtEnTuySyD904p5_BfXBMvYDXKzHvJ5IxMFZ57Hfb2izQyfYVFaH0gAQ
4-6-22 Towamencin - waging fight and uniting other
Townships
https://whyy.org/articles/towamencin-residents-oppose-sewer-privatization/
They watched Cheltenham's rates go up, and residents are
opposing the sale
Paid $9,500 to evaluate the Sewer study
and have bids for $115M and $92 M and $54M. They
believe their rates would double or more than double. See
article to find their Facebook page
The lesson here is that the
systems are better in local hands but
“oversight is needed” - much
better than what we have now.
How to fight the sale in your Town
Listen : 6min
listening to public comments that explain the situation well
https://youtu.be/6vlCrRdpJQA
How
Water corporations will raise your rates
https://youtu.be/7lBzGrVosTA
Join/follow this
Facebook page :
https://www.facebook.com/StopAquaPA
|
|
Sign up here to receive our periodic Newsloop updates on issues that matter to us all.
Knowledge is power. Stay informed to help shape your community and make a difference.
Abington Township revamped the entire Township website at the end of 2015
and broke all the links to the information. In 2017, under Richard
Manfredi,
someone inexperienced was assigned to redo the entire website again.
The public was not asked what problems they would like to see fixed. Their new plan was
not well thought out, so everything was very hard to find and there were giant
paragraphs you had to slog through in order to find the pertinent one or two
lines that you needed. Or if you were lucky enough to even find the meetings and
agenda page, there was (and still is) a whole page
of nonsense on top, so you think you're on the wrong page. Zoom limks are
burrid in a giant paragraph, so people can't find them to attend the meeting.
They know about these problems - but have just decided to ignore us....
for the whole of Richard Manfredi's time here (with Tom Hecker's consent).
Now, in 2025, we are due to get a new Manager,
and there are funds put aside to, once again, upgrade the Township website. We can only hope for a
fresh chance at fixing some of these things, as our Township website is the best tool we
have for communication and should be an easy, user friendly site for all.
We need volunteers willing to work together to help improve the Township site
that everyone has to use, to make it functional and accessible.
We will be repairing our broken links in this Abington Citizens site,
too, and fixing some of our many, many
typo's as much as is possible. (Yes, it's quite evident that, unlike the
Township, WE don't have a paid staff of 275+ or a $93 million budget).
So...please let us know if you find broken links
or typos. Send us the URL
and/or
and the name of the page it is on, so we can correct it.
Thanks for the help.
DISCLAIMER:
The information in this site, like any site, may have unintentional inaccuracies. These pages also have opinions.
Nothing should not be relied upon as fact until it is confirmed personally by the reader.
Please read our full
Disclaimer
and read our Policies page before using
this site.
Again..... if you find inaccuracies or even grammatical errors, please
contact us so we may correct them.
|
