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municipalauthorities.org | 49 standards and new federal restrictions on toxic “forever chemicals,” the cost of keeping up can be a heavy burden. He believes this is where regionalized public consolidation can help. “We took over the Sellersville system in 2011,” Bellitto said. “This is a prime example of a municipal system that was small, that was troubled, that had difficulties and they said ‘we don’t want to continue to operate this system.’” NPWA was able to absorb Sellersville and maintain economical service. On average, its customers pay $1 per day for their water. “There is no other cost that our customers incur on a daily basis for their household that costs the same or less than public water — a dollar per day,” Bellitto said. “You can’t go to Wawa and buy a cup of coffee for three bucks.” He invites other public systems to consider the authority model or explore joining up with NPWA. Bellitto has been speaking with state legislators to make the case against Act 12. “The objection that we have to Act 12 and the whole larger issue of privatization is that although it makes sense when privates target small distressed systems, the reality is that in the past eight years since 2016, they’ve really focused on the opposite which is not distressed systems — large or medium-sized, well-run, well- operated, financially stable systems that have no water quality issues and are not in need of any help from anywhere,” Bellitto said. What happens when a ‘cash cow’ opposes its own sale? Since 2017, Aqua Pennsylvania has been enamored with acquiring the Chester Water Authority (CWA) from the bankrupt city that created it in 1939. Based in the city of Chester, the CWA is one of the region’s biggest public water systems, serving more than 200,000 people across 37 municipalities in both Chester and Delaware counties. Infatuated with the large customer base, Aqua floated a $410 million offer to the cash-strapped city. CWA, however, objected and launched a legal fight to fend off privatization. CWA attorneys have argued that it is an independent entity from Chester and thus cannot be unilaterally sold. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is currently looking over the case. CWA board chair Noël Brandon, 65, argues that none of this minutiae should matter. Their cash flow and water is just fine. “Operationally, we’re an award- winning entity,” Brandon said. “We’ve won the best-tasting water award Continued on page 60. “We run this authority just like a business, but the only thing that we don’t do is require a profit at the end of the day.” for the last two years. We also been part of American Water Works Association’s Safe Water Partnership and have been recognized for the last 20 years doing that.” With an annual operating budget of around $50 million, CWA is larger than the NWPA. The approximately 130 employees all report to the five department heads, who in turn report to executive manager Darryl Jenkins. Jenkins, 60, said coming to work at the CWA has become the “capstone” of his career. He said infrastructure is not the only thing getting old. “All public water suppliers, whether investor-owned or municipal, face an aging workforce, and we’re seeing troubles and trying to replace those workers because of the technical demands of the job,” Jenkins said. However, while smaller utilities may not have the financial wherewithal to be creative with budgets and staffing, Jenkins said CWA is ahead of the curve. “We have short-term and long-term capital improvement plans,” Jenkins said. “We run this authority just like a business, but the only thing that we don’t do is require a profit at the end of the day.” Brandon said municipal consolidation is both a cost-effective and realistic option for struggling water authorities. “The reason why it’s feasible is because now you have a lot more people to be able to contribute affordably to maintaining the infrastructure which is quite vast,”