Water supplier for much of northern Illinois sold

Where your water comes from isn’t changing.

However, the company that will manage, operate and supply area customers soon will change if all goes as planned.

The merger of American Water Works and Essential Utilities Inc., in which Aqua America operates, is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2027.

American Water Works, a Camden, New Jersey-based company, is heading the merger and will operate under the name American Water and will have an enterprise value of $63 billion. Essential Utilities is based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where it operates as Aqua America and Peoples Natural Gas. When the merger is completed, the company will call Camden home.

Aqua Illinois serves about 280,000 people across 14 Illinois counties, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb, Kankakee, Winnebago, Vermillion, Ogle, Knox, Champaign and Boone.

The deal must clear public utility commissions in at least seven states, including Illinois, as well as shareholder approvals and federal antitrust clearances, according to published reports.

American Water is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S.

With a history dating back to 1886, the company provides drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and 18 military installations.

In addition to Illinois, American Water serves customers in Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia and California.

The company employs about 6,700 workers. Essential Utilities served about 5.5 million customers in nine states, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, Texas and Pennsylvania.

Company spokesman Patrick Wenger said details about how long Aqua Illinois leadership was involved in the merger discussions will be made available when the companies file their proxy materials in the coming weeks.

“It’s important to note that operations will continue normally until the transaction closes,” Wenger said speaking about the fate of the South Schuyler Avenue office in Kankakee.

The Kankakee office has about 40 employees.

He added the Aqua Illinois name will continue to be used until the merger’s closing.

Essential Utilities said there would be no change in customer rates.

The company “will be better able to maintain an average customer water bill that is affordable, supporting the economic prosperity of the more than 2,000 communities in which the combined company will operate,” Essential Utilities officials said.

In Illinois, American Water provides water and/or wastewater services to 1.3 million residents.