Documentary History of American Water-works

Consumers Water Company.

Consumers Water Company

The Consumers Water Company was incorporated on February 18, 1926 by George F. and Vernon F. West, partners in George F. West & Son, a well-known and highly successful water utility construction and management firm; Herbert Payson and Harold C. Payson, partners in H.M. Payson & Company, the largest and most influential underwriter of utility firms in America at that time; William B. Skelton, a lawyer who previously served as chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission; Philip Burgess, one of the principals from an engineering firm that designed water utility pumping stations and other facilities for the water utilities industry; and James W. Coburn, a businessman with extensive experience in accounting.

By 1930 the new company has acquired 12 water companies, many of which were already owned or controlled by H.M. Payson & Company or George F. West & Son. No further water companies were acquired until 1959.

The Philadelphia Suburban Corporation acquired Consumers Water Company on March 10, 1999. Philadelphia Suburban was renamed Aqua America in 2004.

The following table shows companies that were bought and sold by the Consumers Water Company:

City	State	Company	Bought	Sold
Kankakee	IL	Kankakee Water Company	1926
Orono	ME	Penobscot County Water Company	1926	Sold to Orono-Veazie Water District in November 1976
Sharon	PA	Shenango Valley Water Company	1926
Masury	OH	Masury Water Co	1926
Beaver Falls	PA	Beaver Valley Water Company	1926	Sold to Beaver Falls Municipal Authority in 1940.
Delaware	OH	Delaware Water Co	1927	Sold to city of Delaware on October 29, 1936
Girardville	PA	Consumers Water Company of Girardville	1927
Williamsport	PA	Williamsport Water Company	1927	Sold to Community Water Service Company in July, 1927
York Shore	ME	York Shore Water Co	1927	Sold to York Water District in 1929
Plattsmouth	NE	Plattsmouth Water Corp.	1928	Sold to city of Plattsmouth in 1943
Hudson	NH	Hudson Water Co.	1930	Sold to town of Hudson in 1998
Waterport	ME	Winterport Water Co.	1930	Sold to Winterport Water District in 1969
Freeport	ME	Freeport Water Co.	1930	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Roanoke	VA	Roanoke Water Works Co	1930	Sold to the city of Roanoke on April 30, 1938
Springfield	MO	Springfield City Water Company	1930	Sold to the city of Springfield on December 30, 1957
Camden & Rockland	ME	Camden & Rockland Water Co	1959	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Newport	ME	Newport Water Company	1963	Sold to Newport Water District in 1980.
Wilton	ME	Wilton Water Company	1964	Sold to Wilton Water District in 1983.
Wiscasset	ME	Wiscasset Water Company	1964	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Damariscotta	ME	Damariscotta Water Co.	1964	October 30, 1994
Blackwood	NJ	Blackwood	1964
Hamilton Square	NJ	Hamilton Square	1965
Wanakah	NY	Wanakah Water Co	1965
Oakland	ME	Oakland Water Co.	1968	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Sayre	PA	Pennsylvania Water Co	1968
Phillipsburg	PA	People's Water Co of Phillipsburg	1968
Kezar Falls	ME	Kezar Falls	1971	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Massillon and others	OH	Ohio Water Service Co	1973
University Park	IL	University Park Division	1984
Shamokin	PA	Roaring Creek Water Company	1985
Danville	IL	Inter-State Water Company	1986
Woodhaven	IL	Woodhaven Utilities Company	1987
Califon	NJ	Califon Water Company	1987
Candlewick Lane Association	IL	Candlewick water system	1988
Hartland	ME	Hartland Water Co	1996	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Bucksport	ME	Bucksport Water Co.	1996	Sold to Connecticut Water Service, Inc. in January, 2012.
Merger	PA	Mercer Water Co	1996
Blackwood	NJ	Lakeland Hospital water system	1995
Rapho Township	PA	Rapho Township water system	1994

References
1954 H.M. Payson & Co. : partnership for 100 years 1854-1954. by H.M. Payson & Co.
Pages 18-19: For many years Charles H., George S. and Herbert, as partners in the firm of H. M. Payson & Co., were active as the financial agents of all the American Water Works and Guarantee Company's properties.
With the organization, in 1888, of the American Water Supply Co., Charles H. and his partners became familiar with the operational end of water utilities, as well, and assumed a threefold responsibility: to distribute and deal in securities for the benefit of the public, to help finance and operate business enterprise, and to develop opportunities for the benefit of both.
As the owner of the American Water Supply Co., H. M. Payson & Co. purchased outright the securities of water companies all the way from New Hampshire to Kansas, and operated them out of the Portland office as a successful business venture. Eventually the American Water Supply Co. was liquidated. However, H. M. Payson & Co., has continued its interest in Water Companies through the Consumers Water Company which was organized in 1926 to own and operate water works properties. Consumers Water Company now manages properties supplying water to Biddeford, Maine; Sharon, Pennsylvania; Kankakee, Illinois; Springfield, Missouri; and other towns and cities.

1979 Consumers Water Company Annual Report

1983 "A Brief History of Consumers Water Company," by Brian M. Mullany, Water: Voice of the National Association of Water Companies 24(4):28-31 (Winter, 1983)

1984 Eighteen Years of Progress: The History of Consumers Water Company Under the Direction of John W.L. White

1986 Consumers Water Company Annual Report

1988 Consumers Water Company Annual Report

1988 Consumers Water Company: Not Just Another Utility, John Van C. Parker

1994 SEC Form 10-K for Consumers Water Company, December 31, 1994

1996 SEC Form 10-K for Consumers Water Company, December 31, 1996

1996 Consumers Water Company History

2000 From Maine to the Main Line: a history of Consumers Water Company, by John van C Parker

2004 H.M. Payson & Co : a foundation of trust for 150 years, by John H Walker and Peter E Robbins
Page 20: Through his experience with the Portland Water Company, Charles saw the opportunity to finance, develop, acquire and operate other water utilities that needed capital and plant improvements. By the time he had left on his successful foray to London, Charles had started, with several partners, the American Water Works and Guarantee Company created to build and develop water properties, and the American Water Supply Company which owned and operated water companies from New Hampshire to Colorado - neither of which should be confused with today's American Water Works.
Through its very active underwriting of utility bonds, H.M. Payson & Co. provided the financing these two companies needed to buy and improve water properties. By the early 1900s, the Company had underwriting relationships with over 100 companies. It helped to finance other water companies from Maine to California - and had by then become widely known as "The Water Bond House."
Pages 21-22: In 1926, the partners of H.M. Payson represented by Herbert Payson, Charles's younger brother, and Harold C. Payson, HM's grandson, came together with five other partners, each bringing their respective expertise in the water business, to form the Consumer's Water Company. The Company had seven dollars in assets, representing the one-dollar contribution from each of the partners on the day of incorporation.
This Company provided returns to its shareholders that would be the envy of any venture capital or buyout firm today.
In less than six years, this new water utility holding company had 10 subsidiaries in seven states. Consumers total assets were over $22 million and common shareholder equity was over $4.5 million - or, again in constant dollars they created over $54 million in shareholder value. True, some of the value came from the utilities already owned by several of the partners that were sold into the new company, but the preponderance of the value came from making and financing acquisitions from third parties at favorable terms. (The whole story of Consumers Water Company is engagingly recounted in John Parker's recent book, From Maine to the Maine Line).