In January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court blocked the corporate takeover of a public water system in Chester, Pennsylvania. After a nine-year battle, the court ruled that Chester, a town of 33,000 outside Philadelphia, does not have the jurisdiction to sell the local municipal water system to Aqua, a massive company that owns water and sewer systems throughout the state.
The ruling came in the wake of major public pushback, with hundreds of residents joining state legislators at public hearings to oppose the sale. Save Chester Water Authority, a grassroots campaign, warned: “In every acquisition it has made, [Aqua] hikes up water bills through rapid-fire rate increases and infrastructure surcharges.” The state supreme court ultimately ruled that the town of Chester could not sell the water system over the objections of Chester Water Authority, an independent governing agency that had rejected the sale and wanted to remain public.
It was a victory for public water advocates in the state, who have been locked into a bitter battle with private water companies for the past decade…