EPCOR Water Arizona has reached an agreement to acquire the troubled East Valley water and sewage treatment company Johnson Utilities.
EPCOR, one of the largest water utilities in the Southwest, was installed as interim manager for Johnson in 2018 after customers complained of repeated water outages and sewer overflows.
Since that time, the company says it has made progress in improving Johnson’s infrastructure, but lawsuits and other legal threats have prevented EPCOR from making the extensive upgrades it says needs to be built.
In a statement, EPCOR USA’s president said the purchase would start "a new chapter of safe and reliable service" for customers.
The Johnson service area encompasses 160 square miles, serving nearly 30,000 water customers and more than 40,000 wastewater customers in Florence, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.
The agreement is still subject to regulatory approval.
