About The York Water

The York Water Company operates as an investor-owned water utility in the United States. The primary business of the company is to impound, purify to meet or exceed safe drinking water standards and distribute water. The company also owns and operates three wastewater collection systems and eight wastewater collection and treatment systems. The company operates within its franchised water and wastewater territory, which covers portions of 54 municipalities within three counties in south-central Pennsylvania. The company is regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PPUC, for both water and wastewater in the areas of billing, payment procedures, dispute processing, terminations, service territory, debt and equity financing and rate setting. The company must obtain PPUC approval before changing any practices associated with the aforementioned areas. Water service is supplied through the company’s own distribution system. The company obtains the bulk of its water supply for its primary system for York and Adams counties from both the South Branch and East Branch of the Codorus Creek, which together have an average daily flow of 73.0 million gallons from a combined watershed area of approximately 117 square miles. The company has two reservoirs on this primary system, Lake Williams and Lake Redman, which together hold up to approximately 2.2 billion gallons of water. The company supplements these reservoirs with a 15-mile pipeline from the Susquehanna River to Lake Redman, which provides access to an additional supply of 12.0 million gallons of untreated water per day. The company obtains its water supply for its system for Franklin County from the Roxbury Dam on the Conodoguinet Creek, which has an average daily flow of approximately 26.0 million gallons from a watershed area of approximately 33 square miles. The company has a reservoir on this system, which holds up to approximately 330 million gallons of water. The company also owns wells, which are capable of providing a safe yield of approximately 637,000 gallons per day to supply water to the customers of its groundwater satellite systems in York and Adams Counties. As of December 31, 2022, the company’s average daily availability was 40.8 million gallons, and average daily consumption was approximately 21.1 million gallons. The company’s service territory had an estimated population of 208,000 as of December 31, 2022. Industry within the company’s service territory is diversified, manufacturing such items as fixtures and furniture, electrical machinery, food products, paper, ordnance units, textile products, air conditioning systems, laundry detergent, barbells, and motorcycles. The company continuously looks for water and wastewater acquisition and expansion opportunities both within and outside its current service territory, as well as additional opportunities to enter into bulk water contracts with municipalities and other entities to supply water. The company has agreements with several municipalities to provide billing and collection services. The company also has a service line protection program on a targeted basis in order to further diversify its business. Under this optional program, customers pay a fixed monthly fee, and the company will repair or replace damaged customer service lines, as needed, subject to an annual maximum dollar amount. The company continues to review and consider opportunities to expand both initiatives. Water and Wastewater Quality and Environmental Regulations The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) requires the company to submit monthly reports showing the results of daily bacteriological and other chemical and physical analyses. The company holds public water supply permits issued by the DEP, which establishes the groundwater source operating conditions for its wells, including demonstrated 4-log treatment of viruses. All of the groundwater satellite systems operated by the company is in compliance with the federal Groundwater Rule. The Clean Water Act regulates discharges from water and wastewater treatment facilities into lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater. The company complies with this Act by obtaining and maintaining all required permits and approvals for discharges from its water and wastewater facilities and by satisfying all conditions and regulatory requirements associated with the permits. The DEP monitors the quality of wastewater discharge effluent under the provisions of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES. The company submits monthly reports to the DEP showing the results of its daily effluent monitoring and removal of sludge and biosolids. The company is required to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule established by the EPA and administered by the DEP. The company is in compliance with standards under the Lead and Copper Rule. The DEP and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, or SRBC, regulate the amount of water withdrawn from streams in the watershed to assure that sufficient quantities are available to meet the needs of the company and other regulated users. The company engaged a professional engineer to analyze the spillway capacities at the Lake Williams and Lake Redman dams and validate the DEP’s recommended flood design for the dams. Properties Source of Water Supply The company obtains the bulk of its water supply for its primary system for York and Adams counties from both the South Branch and East Branch of the Codorus Creek, which together have an average daily flow of approximately 73.0 million gallons from a combined watershed area of approximately 117 square miles. The company owns two impounding dams on this primary system located in York and Springfield Townships adjoining the Borough of Jacobus to the south. The lower dam, the Lake Williams Impounding Dam, creates a reservoir covering approximately 165 acres containing about 870 million gallons of water. The upper dam, the Lake Redman Impounding Dam, creates a reservoir covering approximately 290 acres containing about 1.3 billion gallons of water. The company supplements these reservoirs with a 15-mile pipeline from the Susquehanna River to Lake Redman which provides access to an additional supply of 12.0 million gallons per day, or MGD. The company obtains its water supply for its system for Franklin County from the Roxbury Dam on the Conodoguinet Creek, which has an average daily flow of approximately 26.0 million gallons from a watershed area of approximately 33 square miles. The company has a reservoir on this system, which holds up to approximately 330 million gallons of water. The company also owns satellite groundwater systems in York and Adams counties. The systems consist of wells capable of providing a combined safe yield of approximately 637,000 gallons per day. Pumping Stations The company’s main pumping station is located in Spring Garden Township, York County, on the south branch of the Codorus Creek about four miles downstream from the company’s lower impounding dam. The pumping station houses pumping equipment with a combined permitted capacity of 42.0 MGD. A large diesel backup generator is installed to provide power to the pumps in the event of an emergency. The untreated water is pumped approximately two miles to the filtration plant through pipes owned by the company. The Susquehanna River Pumping Station is located on the western shore of the Susquehanna River in York County, several miles south of Wrightsville. The pumping station houses pumping equipment with a combined permitted capacity of 12.0 MGD. The pumping station pumps water from the Susquehanna River approximately 15 miles through a combination of 30 inch and 36 inch ductile iron main to the company’s upper impounding dam, located at Lake Redman. The Lake Redman Pumping Station is located in York Township, York County, adjacent to Lake Redman. The pumping station is designed to provide a redundant source with permitted capacity to pump 20.0 MGD of untreated water through a company-owned 36 inch force main approximately 3.5 miles to the filtration plant, meeting the company’s daily consumption needs. Treatment Facilities The company’s primary water filtration plant is located in Spring Garden Township, York County, about one-half mile south of the City of York. Water at this plant is filtered through twelve dual media filters having a rated capacity of 39.0 MGD, with a maximum supply of 42.0 MGD for short periods if necessary. The company’s sediment recycling facility is located adjacent to this water filtration plant. This state of the art facility employs cutting edge technology to remove fine, suspended solids from untreated water. The company estimates that through this energy-efficient, environmentally friendly process, approximately 600 tons of sediment will be removed annually, thereby improving the quality of the Codorus Creek watershed. The company also operates a water filtration plant in Greene Township, Franklin County. Water at this plant is filtered through filters having a rated capacity of 1.16 MGD. The company has eight wastewater treatment facilities located in three counties within south-central Pennsylvania. The wastewater treatment plants range from small extended aeration package plants to three larger facilities that utilize Biological Nutrient Removal/tertiary treatment technology, and have a combined permitted flow capacity of 772,500 gallons. With a projected maximum daily demand of 314,000 gallons, the plants’ flow paths offer both capacity and operational redundancy for maintenance, high flow events, and potential growth. Distribution and Collection The distribution systems of the company has approximately 1,065 miles of water main lines which range in diameter from 2 inches to 36 inches. The distribution systems include booster stations and standpipes and reservoirs capable of storing approximately 59.4 million gallons of potable water. All booster stations are equipped with at least two pumps for protection in case of mechanical failure. Following a deliberate study of customer demand and pumping capacity, the company installed standby generators at all critical booster stations to provide an alternate energy source or emergency power in the event of an electric utility interruption. The wastewater collection systems of the company have approximately 94 miles of gravity collection mains and pressure force mains along with redundant sewage pumping stations. History The York Water Company was founded in 1816. The company was incorporated in 1816.