WARREN — A private water company is asking Trumbull County commissioners to consider selling it the Southeast Public Water System, which supplies water to all or parts of Brookfield, Vienna and Hubbard Township, for $8 million, according to a proposal sent to the county’s sanitary engineer.

Aqua Ohio Inc.’s President Robert Davis, in a letter sent to the county on March 14, said the company is ready to assume ownership, with a commitment of infrastructure investment and the ability to negotiate water rates.

Trustees in these communities have a desire to partner with Aqua to provide their constituents with high quality water services from a uniform water supplier, and to expand water service in their townships in support of economic development, according to the letter.

“We were approached by the trustees of the Southeast water district approximately a year ago to determine whether we would be interested in supplying water,” Davis said Friday. “What was sent to the commissioners is a high-level, non-binding letter of interest to determine the county’s interest in selling the system.”

The $8 million price in the letter likely would be a starting point of the negotiations, he said. An actual proposal with a price would be given once it is determined if the county is considering selling the infrastructure. At that point, they would negotiate what infrastructure improvements may be needed, water rates and other costs.

Aqua Ohio now provides services and water to Struthers, Campbell, Lowellville and Canfield in Mahoning County. It has a request for qualifications being considered in the Jackson and Milton townships, also in Mahoning County.

Aqua is in seven states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio. With more than 500,000 customers, Aqua Ohio has the second-largest number of customers in the company’s system.

VIENNA TOWNSHIP

Vienna Township Trustee Phil Pegg said interest in obtaining water from Aqua is because he believes the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District-supplied water from Niles has been — in his word — horrible.

“In my case, I’ve had to replace at least three water tanks over the last three years,” he said. “It is very, very bad water.”

Pegg said township residents and trustees have met with Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda and Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough about their concerns. “The water has had a calcium level at about 11,” he said. “It is like drinking chalk.”

Pegg said township residents had to pay for the water line that is bringing the water from the MVSD into Vienna when it, through Niles, became the supplier of water into Vienna. Prior to Niles providing the water, the Southeast Water District was provided water by Aqua Shenango.

“They put in a new de-calcifier, and the water has improved, but not enough,” he said.

Pegg said Vienna has three concerns: poor water quality, the lack of investment into the Southeast district and concerns about annexation attempts by Niles and its business supporters.

Pegg said this is the perfect time to have discussions about service being received by the Southeast district, because the original 20-year contract signed with Niles/MVSD is about to end.

DISCUSSIONS

Rick Hernandez, Hubbard Township trustee chairman , also expressed interest in the county working with Aqua Ohio so township residents can have a clean water source.

“I, personally, would be for it,” Hernandez said. “However, we, as a board of trustees, have not taken a position on this. ”

Hernandez said there were some discussions with Brookfield trustees in the last six months, but those discussions have not resumed.

“Some residents in the township have experienced problems with their water wells,” Hernandez said.

Brookfield Trustee Dan Suttles also emphasized that its board has not established a position on whether it will make a recommendation to the commissioners to sell its water and sewer lines to Aqua Ohio.

“We have worked with Vienna and Hubbard township,” Suttles said. “I want to point out that I, personally, am pretty pleased with the services currently being provided by the Trumbull County sanitary system.”

Some areas of Brookfield are currently being served by Aqua Ohio, while other areas are being served by Trumbull County, he noted.

THE COUNTY

Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said the change would affect an estimated 3,000 Trumbull County customers in the Southeast water district.

“The district has paid for over $50 million in improvements since its inception and those customers deserve the best quality and service available,” he said. ” Any offers to take over the district would need to be reflective of those improvements as well as other financial burdens the county would be incurring.”

Prior to 2006, Aqua Shenango was the bulk water supplier to those townships, according to Cantalamessa. The company raised rates several times. He noted Aqua is a publicly traded company with an in interest in maximizing its profits.

“We have made great strides in this district as it relates to overall water quality and have reduced water loss significantly,” Cantalamessa said. “Everyone needs to take a hard look at the numbers before and decide if this is the best option, not just in the short term, but over a longer period of time.”

Commissioner Niki Frenchko said the proposal seems to be unreasonably low.

She said she’s not aware of any constituents contacting the commissioners’ office saying they want Aqua, and the commissioners have not received any approved resolutions from the townships.

“I think the (township) constituents should be apprised of their trustees contemplating such a major change,” she said.

Believing that privatization makes sense in some cases, Frenchko does not believe it does in this case.

“There’s no competition with Aqua to drive down costs for customers,” she said. “Once they have you, the users are at their mercy. We are in the process of a rate study to equalize rates across the county, and it would adversely affect the rates of all Trumbull County customers to sell a well-performing district.”

Commissioner Frank Fuda said he has to talk to Newbrough about the cost of water from Aqua Ohio. “Its water costs are higher than what we charge,” Fuda said.

Cantalamessa said the monthly water bill for a customer in the Southeast district is currently $43.10 per 5,000 gallons.

The same usage in Aqua’s Masury District is $54.05 per 5,000 gallons, according to Cantalamessa.

In Mahoning County, Aqua is $64.29 per 5,000 gallons, he noted.

Fuda estimates the county’s infrastructure is worth about $40 million, not what has been offered.

“We (commissioners) have not discussed this,” Fuda said. “This is something that was sent to us.”

rsmith@tribtoday.com