BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aqua America Inc. (NYSE: WTR) announced today its Pennsylvania subsidiary acquired the 5,400-connection wastewater assets of Limerick Township for $75 million, marking Aqua Pennsylvania’s first acquisition to close under Act 12, fair market valuation legislation.

Act 12 encourages consolidation in a fragmented water and wastewater industry, allowing resources to be shared among a larger service area, ultimately benefitting utility customers, according to Aqua America Chairman and CEO Christopher Franklin.

“Aqua is thrilled to welcome our new Limerick customers and employees,” said Franklin. “This purchase was a collaborative effort that will allow us to bring benefits to the Limerick community by leveraging expertise in compliance, large-scale purchasing power and efficiencies in a larger, regional operation.”

Aqua Pennsylvania President Marc Lucca says his team will bring a sharp environmental focus to the service they provide for Limerick’s residents.

“It’s imperative we return treated wastewater back to our rivers and streams cleaner than when we first take it out,” Lucca said. “I welcome our new employees who’ve done a great job ensuring the Limerick system is compliant and well maintained, and look forward to serving our new customers.”

Along with Limerick, Aqua has several fair market value asset purchase agreements in place, including Cheltenham, East Bradford and New Garden townships in Pennsylvania, and the Village of Manteno in Illinois, which closed July 5. When it completes these acquisitions, the company will welcome approximately 23,000 new customer connections to the Aqua family.

Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded water utilities and serves nearly 3 million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information.