Investing over $66M in Exeter Township to improve water quality, reliability and protect Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams

Pennsylvania American Water is proud to serve as our state’s largest water and wastewater service operator. For 135 years, we have provided water and wastewater services across Pennsylvania and currently serve 2.4 million Pennsylvanians in 417 communities – including in Berks County.

For over 21 years, we have been providing high quality, reliable water service to Lower Alsace and the surrounding communities. In the fall of 2019, we began providing wastewater service to the Exeter community.

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PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

Communities across Pennsylvania all want the same thing – reliable, safe and affordable water services. Residents should be able to turn on the tap and expect high quality drinking water or flush the toilet and know that their community’s wastewater is being managed and treated in a way that protects Pennsylvania’s treasured rivers and streams.

However, after a major storm in October 2018, Exeter Township’s municipal wastewater system released four million gallons of untreated sewage into the Schuylkill River. The spill forced communities downstream in Montgomery and Chester counties to monitor their drinking water. As a result, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) placed the system under a consent order, requiring a three-year study on rain overflows and major upgrades to the treatment and collection system that resulted in competing budgetary challenges.

IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE

In October 2019, the Township sold the wastewater system to Pennsylvania American Water citing increasing burdens from federal and state regulations. As a result of the system sale, the Township used the $93.5 million in proceeds to eliminate wastewater debt, pay pension funds, and implement new tax exemptions for residents.

Since acquiring the system in 2019, Pennsylvania American Water has invested $20 million to and plans to invest an additional $46 million over the next 5 years in Exeter’s wastewater infrastructure. This combined $66 million investment will achieve environmental compliance, improve reliability, and expand the pipes/pumps capacity to accommodate heavy rains and support community growth.

PAAMWater Exeter Story Timeline

Learn more about how Pennsylvania American Water’s ongoing investments and expertise have drastically improved Exeter’s wastewater infrastructure here.

PAAMWater Exeter Story Investment Spotlights

INVESTING IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Today, Pennsylvania American Water serves over 63,000 people in Berks County. Of that, our Glen Alsace and Exeter districts serve over 29,000 Berks County residents and business owners.

In 2022, we invested $490 million to upgrade our water and wastewater systems, supporting the communities we service across the Commonwealth. Over the past five years, we’ve funded more than $2 billion in capital construction, and we expect to invest $450 to $600 million annually statewide over the next several years.

In our Glen Alsace and Exeter districts, we have invested nearly $3 million over the last five years to replace aging water mains. We’ve also made upgrades to our water treatment tanks and pump stations, bringing our total combined investment in these two systems to over $27 million.

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We believe that safe, effective, and reliable wastewater treatment is a vital service. Being a good steward of your water – including what goes down the drain – is just one more way We Keep Life Flowing right here in Berks County.