Virginia American Water acquires Dale Service Corp.

Virginia American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), which is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, announced Nov. 14 that it has completed its acquisition of Dale Service Corporation, a wastewater utility company in Dale City, Virginia. 

The total value of the transaction is approximately $27.7 million.

With approximately 20,000 customers (a population of about 50,000 people), this is the largest wastewater acquisition in more than 10 years for American Water, and marks the entry of Virginia American Water, which is the largest investor-owned water utility in Virginia, into the wastewater services market.

The service area of the newly acquired entity overlaps Virginia American Water’s existing water service area in Prince William County.

“This acquisition is a great example of how we grow our business in areas that make sense for the company and its customers,” Jeff Sterba, president and CEO of American Water, was quoted as saying in a press release. “By expanding into the wastewater market in our existing water service footprint, we create greater efficiency and economies of scale, which benefits our customers.”

As part of the purchase, which was approved by the VA State Corporation Commission, Virginia American Water’s new subsidiary will operate two wastewater treatment plants with a combined capacity of 9.2 million gallons per day.

Since 1966, Virginia American Water has been providing water services to most of the Dale Service Corporation wastewater customers.