Sale Of Canonsburg Houston Joint Authority Considered

Canonsburg Council held a public workshop on Monday evening to listen to proposals from two utility companies that are interested in purchasing the Canonsburg Houston Joint Authority. The boroughs of Canonsburg and Houston jointly own the CHJA. Ultimately, they will decide if a sale will be consummated. Proposals were presented by Aqua, a subsidiary of Essential Utilities and The Pennsylvania American Water Company. Monday’s meeting was the third such meeting that has discussed a possible sale of the sewerage treatment plant and the collector system infrastructure. The request for proposals from the were to include the purchase price, rate structure over the next 10 years and the company’s ability to close the deal. Offer prices were revealed at the meeting. Aqua offered $145 million to purchase the system. PAWC offered $140 million. Specific rate increases were not discussed at the presentation. Canonsburg Council Chairman Eric Chandler made it clear that no matter what decision is made, rates are going up, even if it is decided that the authority will not be sold, rates will be going up. Steve Lucas, Vice Chairman of the CHJA board of directors indicated that discussions began two years ago when PAWC approached them with the idea of selling the authority. Lucas said much more information is needed before a decision is made. It could be one to two years before a determination to sell or not is made.