Keep fighting to protect your local water authority

I’m in Bucks too and pay $226/quarter for water and sewer for a family of six. I’m so glad the Aqua deal was squashed.

Fortunately, negotiations over the sale came to a swift halt in September when the Bucks County Board of Commissioners stepped in and said they would oppose the sale if the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority ended up approving it. This is a great example of the importance of voting. In. Every. Single. Election.

Less than 2 months into what was scheduled to be one year of negotiations, the BOC wasted no time in announcing that since the deal would not be in the best interests of the citizens, they would not approve it. Knowing that any deal would go nowhere without the Board’s support, BCWSA ended negotiations with Aqua America the next day. The supposed advantages were $1.1 Billion in the county’s coffers, and a mere average increase of $20/month per household through 2033 to fund the much-needed maintenance and upgrades to an aging infrastructure. But, as one of the Commissioners pointed out, Aqua America customers in PA have already seen an average increase of $88 per month because our lovely PA PUC keeps approving the rate increases. When negotiations were announced, the outcry from the public and from municipalities was strong and immediate. Apparently, these folks do listen to their constituencies.

The Presidential and the mid-term elections get so much fuss and attention (and $$$). They are held in even-numbered years; local and municipal elections are almost always held in the odd-numbered. We elected the Board of Commissioners in November of 2019 to 4-year terms. The process for these positions is a lil’ different, in that we always get to vote for two candidates. So next May, we will vote for 2 from the Party we are registered with, then the 2 Democrats who got the most votes will face the 2 Republicans who got the most. In November, we’ll again get to vote for 2 out of the those 4. Currently, the Board is made up of 2 Democrats and 1 Republican. I might not have mentioned- all three Commissioners made public statements opposing the sale to Aqua America.

The odd-numbered-year elections are for offices which determine much of our daily living. The PA Supreme Court makes rules on the laws we have to follow; we also elect local Judges and Magistrates. At the County level, we vote for the District Attorney, the Sheriff, and Controller (who is like the County’s CFO), to name a few. On the hyper-local level, we get to choose School Board members, and in some municipalities, School Superintendent. Right here on the State, County, and City subreddits, we’ve seen how controversy and shenanigans are affecting how our children are being educated. If you think that since you don’t have any kids in K-12 right now that none of this affects you- think again. In the not-too-distant future, these “kids” will be your pharmacist, your electrician, your local police officer, the PENNDOT worker laying the foundation for the road you take to get to work.

Vote. In. Every. Single. Election.

If something bad is happening to the residents of Pennsylvania, hop onto this sub and let the rest of us know, like this OP did. And btw OP, I’m really sorry that this sale happened in your community. Greed is everywhere, and corporations don’t think twice about majorly screwing people over in pursuit of an extra dollar. Not even when it comes to something that’s so fundamentally necessary- like having clean drinking water and a way to flush away your poo. I took a quick look at the PUC’s web site. Before filing a complaint with them, you have to file a complaint with the utility. Since at this point, it seems like that’s your only recourse, maybe you want to give that a shot. In the morning, I’ll do some looking and see if it’s possible to file a complaint that doesn’t directly affect you. If you can, I sure am willing to file a complaint on your behalf, and that of your community. Maybe someone else reading this is willing to too. Thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention, and best of luck with your complaint!