The Chicago Tribune has a good article on the fight many communities are waging to buy back their water works from American Water Company. You’ve probably heard most of the stories, but I did find a couple of quotes particularly interesting:

In most instances, American Water–RWE’s U.S. arm and the largest private water company in the country–has won. In the last 15 years, it has sold only three operations because of hostile challenges.

I didn’t know they had sold any, did you? Although the Tribune sets this in a negative tone (“it has only sold three…”), I imagine most cities would see this as an encouragement. If hostile challenges have worked three times, they can work again, right? On the other hand, RWE has a strong incentive to keep fighting:

The Illinois challenges come at an especially delicate juncture for the company. Although American Water officials say none of the firm’s individual units is for sale, RWE is pursuing a public stock offering for the whole of American Water. If communities succeed in taking over even a few of its subsidiaries, the value of the public offering could be seriously eroded, company officials say.

I suppose their reasoning should have been obvious, but this is the first time I’ve seen the company say something other than simply “it’s not for sale.”

Even though I’m not a proponent of Peoria buying back its water works, I think it’s good to keep abreast of this issue because it’s only a couple of years before Peoria tries the buyout route again.