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Aqua Americaa?s North Carolina Subsidiary Acquires Water System

^{Published on 2010-10-05 16:46:27 - Market Wire}
 

BRYN MAWR, Pa.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) announced today that its North Carolina subsidiary has acquired the water utility system assets of Setzer Brothers, Inc. for $162,500. The system serves about 600 residents in four subdivisions in Catawba County.

"Filling out our footprint in areas adjacent to our existing systems enables us to take advantage of economies of scale. That means we can give all of our customers better service a" and more efficiently."

The Setzer system has been classified as atroubleda by North Carolina state regulators. Troubled systems are those in need of significant capital improvements to ensure an adequate supply of safe drinking water to their customers. Aqua North Carolina will manage the systema™s operations from its Denver office in neighboring Lincoln County.

aAqua already serves customers near the Setzer system,a said Aqua America Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis. aFilling out our footprint in areas adjacent to our existing systems enables us to take advantage of economies of scale. That means we can give all of our customers better service a" and more efficiently.a

aAquaa™s purchase of the Setzer system is part of our ongoing initiative to acquire distressed water and wastewater systems and invest in improvements that will enhance water quality and service,a said Aqua North Carolina President Tom Roberts. aThis joint effort by the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Aqua will provide our new customers with reliable water service that meets environmental standards.a

The Setzer acquisition is the fourteenth by Aqua America this year and the second in North Carolina. Other acquisitions took place in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia and Texas.

Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based publicly-traded water utilities, serving nearly 3 million residents in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Maine, Missouri, New York, South Carolina and Georgia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that address, among other things: the impact the company may have on the acquired system and its customers and the continuation of the companya™s strategy to pursue the acquisition of such systems. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including: the risk that the acquired companya™s business will not be successfully integrated; and other key factors that we have indicated could adversely affect our business and financial performance discussed in our Annual Report or Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Aqua America is not under any obligation a" and expressly disclaims any such obligation a" to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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