The acquisition will add nearly 460 wastewater customers to its existing customer base, with a population of over 1,240 residents
Indiana American Water acquires Riley wastewater system in western Indiana. (Credit: Pixabay/Adam Radosavljevic)
Indiana American Water has completed the acquisition of the Town of Riley’s wastewater system in western Indiana for $1.54m.
The acquisition will add nearly 460 wastewater customers to its existing customer base, with a population of over 1,240 residents.
Indiana American Water president Matt Prine said: “The acquisition of this system will help hold rates down for Riley customers over the long term as needed investments are made and also provide access to operations and capital management water professionals and a number of customer service options and payment method.
“Indiana American Water already provides water service to Riley and several nearby communities, so this allows us to bring greater efficiencies to customers in Riley and across Indiana.”
The deal was approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in March and closed by the company and the town on 29 April 2020.
The Riley system will be integrated into Indiana American Water’s Terre Haute district, which currently serves nearly 72,000 residents.
Riley Town council president Clayton White said: “Our town has other pressing priorities and lacks the technical expertise or resources to continue running a sewer utility, especially given increasing environmental regulations.
“This acquisition will help us to address these concerns while also providing future rate stability by keeping our sewer rates lower than they would have been under municipal ownership, making needed improvements to the system, and generating additional property tax revenues.”
Indiana American Water acquired Charlestown Water System to expand customer base in March last year
In March 2019, Indiana American Water had acquired Charlestown Water, a municipal water utility located in southern Indiana.
The company had stated that the acquisition would add approximately 2,900 customers to its existing customer base representing a population of more than 7,800 residents.
Currently, the firm provides water and wastewater services to 1.34 million people in Indiana.