Connecticut Water Service Inc. has laid out a new capital spending plan for next year.
The company said yesterday that its board of directors has approved an overall $85.7 million capital spending plan for 2019 for its regulated public water and wastewater utilities. The 2019 plan represents an increase of $19.5 million, or 29.5 percent, compared to 2018’s approved plan.
More than 41 percent of the capital spending planned for 2019, or $35.4 million, is allocated for pipeline replacement and other projects eligible through Connecticut’s Water Infrastructure and Conservation Adjustment and Maine’s Water Infrastructure Charge programs.
“Our planned 2019 capital spending represents our long-standing record of and unwavering commitment to investing in the infrastructure needed to serve families and communities,” David C. Benoit, CTWS’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Our investment, from source to tap, enhances service reliability and water quality, maintains robust water flows to fire hydrants, reduces operating expenses through lower repair costs and reduces water lost to underground leaks and the power wasted to pump lost water.”
The capital spending plan also includes $12 million for treatment improvements. The single largest portion of that is allocated to the Saco River Drinking Treatment Facility that will replace Maine Water Co.’s oldest surface water treatment plant, which went into service in 1884 and is possibly the oldest water treatment facility in the nation.
The new treatment facility will be located out of the Saco River’s flood plain and will ensure that the company has reliable capacity and system redundancy to meet the water needs of current and future customers in southern Maine. The facility is expected to be service in 2021.
In addition to Maine Water, CTWS’s water and wastewater subsidiaries included in the 2019 capital spending plan are Connecticut Water Co., Heritage Village Water Co. and Avon Water Co.
Under the 2019 capital spending plan, $70 million will be allocated to the company’s Connecticut subsidiaries and $15.8 million to Maine Water.
CTWS’s board also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.3125 per common share payable on Dec. 17, 2018, for shareholders of record as of Dec. 3, 2018. This quarterly dividend remains unchanged from the previous quarter and represents an annualized dividend of $1.25 per share.
