Lake Section Water Company Acquisition
Posted on January 26, 2023
Acquisition Would Expand Utility to Almost 16,000 ConnectionsPosted on January 26, 2023
New Mexico Water has signed an agreement to purchase the assets of Lake Section Water Company (Lake Section), a utility located in Chaparral, N.M. The acquisition, which—when closed—would establish New Mexico Water as the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in the state, is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions and approval by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (Commission).
As part of the purchase, New Mexico Water will own and operate the Lake Section water system, which serves 5,000 customer connections about 110 miles south of New Mexico Water’s Elephant Butte system in the greater El Paso, Texas, metropolitan area.
“We are dedicated to providing quality, service, and value to all of our customers and appreciate Lake Section Water Company’s confidence in our team to provide the same service to its customers,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO of New Mexico Water. “We also look forward to working with Lake Section and the Commission to complete the acquisition.”
Group has completed more than 18 acquisitions since 2019, which has added more than 42,000 water and wastewater customer connections. With the addition of closed and announced transactions, Group will be the largest investor-owned water utility in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington.
I contacted them resquesting information about the posible benefits for Chaparral residents and I was informed the access to an online paying system would be provided as well as all the statewide services. Unfortunatelly, they do not have plans of buying the wastewater system we have here in Chaparral. Below I am placing the response I receive from them for you to read.
Hello,
Thank you for your inquiry below. If New Mexico Water Service was to purchase Lake Section Water Company, the customers would have access to pay bills on line through our website, or continue to pay at the customer service center. The customer service center location would immediately remain unchanged. Further, our statewide services such as inhouse engineers, water quality program managers and system operators would ensure that the residents receive excellent customer service and water that meets all federal and state standards. After the acquisition, customer rates would remain unchanged. We do not have plans to expand our acquisition to the wastewater system for Chaparral at this time.
Thanks,
Nelson Lui
Director of Integration
Corporate Development
California Water Service Co.
(408) 501-1722 x78722