On July 13th, 2022 the board of Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, in an unpublicized last-minute change to the day’s agenda, entered into a one year exclusive negotiating deal with Aqua Pennsylvania to purchase the Authority’s sanitary sewer system. While the $1.1 billion deal is pitched as a windfall with “profits” for the county is in fact a $1.1 billion debt borne solely by sewer customers and repaid to Aqua PA in the form of unnecessary and exorbitant rate increases. 

Bucks County deserves, and has been provided with, clean healthy drinking water and safely treated wastewater for decades. Up until now BCWSA has provided these services to its communities AT COST and until there is some demonstrated unmet need that ONLY a corporate takeover can solve, NOPE demands that this system and its assets remain in public control. Additionally we insist that the Bucks County Commissioners step in if necessary should this Authority unilaterally terminate it’s mandated responsibilities as laid out in its Article of Incorporation.

The Commissioners have the final word in this decision and they can reshape the Authority or take direct control of the Authority’s assets as they deem appropriate. At the end of the day this is a three party deal with ELECTED officials as the final decision makers. Sadly and ironically enough, the only people not directly participating in this deal-making are the ratepayers themselves - those friends, neighbors and family members who will actually be the ones burdened by this $1.1 billion debt.