Most former water customers of the Saxonburg Area Authority should see smaller bills in the coming months.

The regional authority, which provides utility service in southeastern Butler County, has sold its water system to Pennsylvania American Water in a deal worth about $6 million.

The authority, which will continue to provide sanitary-sewer service, will use the money from the sale to pay water system debt. The agreement closed Oct. 28.

The sale affects about 1,200 residential and commercial water customers of the authority living in Saxonburg, Clinton and Jefferson.

Former authority customers will pay a total of about $150,000 less through 2010 for water service under Pennsylvania American rates, according to authority manager Paul Cornetti. That works out to savings of about $7.50 per month, or $90 a year, for the average customer, he said.

The sale also removes the danger of future rate increases as high as 60 percent if the authority had to replace its aging 14-mile transmission line.

"We are able to bring technical expertise and economies of scale to provide long-term solutions to communities that are facing costly issues with their water infrastructure," company President Kathy L. Pape said in a statement.

Pennsylvania American, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based American Water, plans to install 42,500 feet of new pipe, equal to about eight miles, over the next several years.

It will take about one year to link the Saxonburg area system to Pennsylvania American's Butler District. The district already serves about 16,700 customers in Butler, East Butler, Connoquenessing Borough and portions of Butler, Center, Connoquenessing, Forward, Franklin, Oakland, Penn and Summit townships.

Some of the Saxonburg authority's water lines date to the 1930s. The borough oversaw water service until 1978 when the regional authority was created.

The authority plans to continue to provide sewerage to its 3,400 customers in Saxonburg, Clinton, Jefferson, Middlesex and Penn, Mr. Cornetti said. The quasi-governmental agency also has been in talks with Summit on the possibility of extending lines to portions of that community unserved by the Butler Area Sewer Authority.

Pennsylvania American will maintain its current rate structure for Saxonburg area customers at least until the end of 2011, according to Gary Lobaugh, the company's external affairs manager.

Its new customers already should have received their final bills from the Saxonburg authority and gotten an information packet from Pennsylvania American. Water customers with questions can call the utility's customer service number, 1-800-565-7292.

Two Saxonburg authority workers, Brian Miller and Zach Taylor, have been hired by Pennsylvania American. Plant manager Tom Grech was laid off, Mr. Cornetti said.

The acquisition of the Saxonburg area customers follows by less than a month Pennsylvania American's purchase of three other small water systems. On Oct. 1 the company added 600 customers from the Wallaceton Municipal Authority, in Clearfield County; Boggs Township Municipal Authority, Centre County; and Amwell Township Water Authority, Washington County.

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