Essential Utilities, Inc. WTRG announced that its subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, acquired the water system assets of the Ulster Municipal Authority in Bradford County for $0.5 million. This new acquisition will increase the existing water customer base by 180 customers.
Aqua Pennsylvania plans to invest $2 million in upgrades to the acquired water system assets of the Ulster Municipal Authority in Bradford County over the next five years and provide quality services to the customers in the region.
These infrastructure upgrades aim to modernize facilities, replace aging lines and provide safe, high-quality water for all residents of Ulster.
Fragmented Water Utilities Offer Acquisition Opportunities
Essential Utilities is quite active in expanding its operations through acquisition. Since 2015, the company has added more than 138,000 customers or equivalent dwelling units and about $570 million of rate base through acquisitions. In May 2026, Essential Utilities acquired Integra Water Texas for $4.9 million, adding about 1,100 wastewater customers after closing Greenville earlier in the year. Signed purchase agreements represent more than 200,000 customers and about $282 million in purchase price, while the active municipal acquisition pipeline is about 400,000 customers. Essential Utilities’ proposed American Water Works AWK merger remains targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
American Water Works is expanding its customer base through regulated acquisitions as well as organic growth. Through June 30, 2026, the company added about 52,000 customer connections from acquisitions, including roughly 47,000 connections from the Nexus systems acquired on June 1. The Nexus transaction expanded operations across eight states and was completed ahead of the company’s initial timeline.
Another water utility, California Water Service Group CWT, stated that it has agreed to acquire Nexus Water Group’s Nevada and Oregon water and wastewater systems for $218 million. The company completed the acquisition of Palm Mutual Water Company in July 2026, which added more than 300 customers.
Recently, Select Water Solutions WTTR agreed to acquire Pilot Water Solutions for $700 million, plus up to $15 million in contingent consideration. Pilot Water Solutions adds extensive Delaware Basin infrastructure, long-term contracted revenues and significant disposal capacity. The combination will expand Select Solutions’ water midstream platform, pipeline network, recycling capacity and produced-water storage footprint
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Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).