Illinois American Water Acquires City of Farmington Water System

Acquisition will add approximately 1,125 new customers in Peoria
Service Area

FARMINGTON, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Illinois American Water President Bruce Hauk today announced the
Company’s acquisition of the City of Farmington’s water system. The
purchase of the system adds approximately 1,125 new customers to the
Company’s customer base in the Peoria District and serves a population
of about 2,500 residents.

The Farmington City Council voted in favor of the sale in March 2017 and
the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the sale for $3.75
million on March 21, 2018. Today, Illinois American Water acquired the
water system.

“We look forward to investing in the City of Farmington and ensuring
quality water service to our new customers,” said Hauk.

City of Farmington Mayor Kent Kowal also supports the acquisition. He
said, “We welcome Illinois American Water and look forward to their team
helping us meet our water service needs. Their knowledge and ability to
upgrade our aging water system is critical to our community’s economic
future.”

Illinois American Water will invest $5 million in the first five years
of ownership. This investment will include a hydraulic study to be
completed in 2018 with a focus on improving water pressure and fire
flow. Investment will also include GIS updates and meter exchanges. In
coming years, Illinois American Water will focus on water main
replacements and installations to loop water mains.

Roger Goodson, sr. manager of field operations and production for the
Peoria District, said, “We are excited to become a member of this
vibrant community, not only as the water service provider, but as a good
neighbor.”

New customers will soon receive an Illinois American Water welcome
packet in the mail. This packet includes information about online
account management, billing and more.

The appraisal process used for the Farmington water system was conducted
under the supervision of the ICC and established as part of the Illinois
Water Systems Viability Act. According to Hauk, this law gives
communities an alternative to value their water and/or wastewater system
when considering being acquired by an investor-owned water utility. He
said, “Previous law only allowed the investor-owned water or sewer
utility to pay the original cost minus depreciation to acquire a small
system, public or private. Because of this, systems were deprived of
receiving adequate value for their system.”

The City of Farmington will be incorporated into the company’s Peoria
District, which currently serves residents in Peoria, West Peoria,
Bartonville, Bellevue, Rome, Mapleton and parts of several surrounding
townships. Dunlap, Hanna City and the Timber Logan Water District are
sale for resale (wholesale) customers.

About Illinois American Water – Illinois American Water, a
subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned
water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water
and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American
Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality
control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating
back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically
diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The
company employs more than 6,900 dedicated professionals who provide
regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related
services to an estimated 15 million people in 46 states and Ontario,
Canada. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable
water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives
flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com
and follow American Water on Twitter,
Facebook
and LinkedIn.

Contacts

Illinois American Water
Karen Cotton, 309-566-4126
External
Affairs Manager