First Selectman Kevin Christie acknowledged and welcomed the November 19 decision by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) not to approve the proposed sale of Aquarion Water Company. This outcome reflects the concerns raised by multiple municipalities, including Westport, along with regional Councils of Government, consumers and advocacy organizations regarding the protection and stewardship of essential public water resources.

First Selectman Christie stated, “Water is a critical public asset, and maintaining local accountability, transparency, and stability in water management remains a top priority for our community. If the $2.4 billion sale had been approved, PURA would have lost its authority to regulate water rates. The proposed structure would also have replaced traditional property taxes with payments-in-lieu-of-taxes and granted the Regional Water Authority (RWA) a controlling majority of seats on the Aquarion Water Authority (AWA) board of directors. Throughout the review process, Westport emphasized the importance of ensuring that any ownership or structural changes to Aquarion would safeguard service reliability, infrastructure investment, rate stability, and long-term watershed protection.”

The Town of Westport participated as an intervenor in the PURA proceeding, alongside the towns of Fairfield, New Canaan, Ridgefield, and MetroCOG and WestCOG. During a series of evidentiary hearings, it became clear that the proposed change of control would likely result in significant annual water rate increases, the elimination of regulatory oversight, reduced tax payments to municipalities, and the transfer of decision-making authority over local water resources to an RWA-controlled board.

“We appreciate PURA’s thorough evaluation of the proposed transaction and its commitment to ensuring that decisions about Westport’s water utilities serve the public interest,” said Christie. “As a result of this favorable ruling, residents and ratepayers can be assured that the Town of Westport will continue to work collaboratively with Aquarion and state regulators to ensure that residents receive high-quality, dependable water service.”