Existing staff will run Aqua Ohio as the company looks to replace a local executive

By Don Shilling

Existing staff will run Aqua Ohio as the company looks to replace a local executive.

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

A local water provider is moving carefully as it replaces Walter “Buzz” Pishkur, who is taking over operations at Forum Health.

Aqua Ohio probably will name a new president within six months, but there is no reason to hurry, said Bob Liptak, who was Pishkur’s supervisor.

As officials consider their options in naming a replacement, Liptak will oversee area operations in addition to his duties as regional president of a company division called Aqua North. This division includes water operations in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Liptak said he has worked closely with Pishkur and is familiar with area operations because he is based in Sharon, Pa.

Liptak said he also will rely on the three division presidents within Aqua Ohio, including Al Sauline, who oversees the Struthers division and the Shenango Valley operations. The other divisions of Aqua Ohio are based in Mentor and Massillon.

Liptak called Pishkur’s new position a “great opportunity” and predicted he will do well people because of his people-oriented management style and energy. Liptak said he understood why Pishkur wanted to undertake the challenge of running a hospital system.

“It has great value to the economic well-being to the area,” Liptak said.

Pishkur last month was named president and chief executive of Forum. The hospital system had been led by executives who were brought in to cut costs and turn around the financially troubled company.

Aqua Ohio is part of Aqua America, which is one of the nation’s largest investor-owned water providers. The company, which is based near Philadelphia, serves about 2.8 million people in 13 states.

Aqua America last year had operating revenues of $602.5 million and earnings of $95 million.

The local operations became part of the company when it acquired the former Consumers Water Co. in 1999. Consumers had taken over the locally based Ohio Water Service in the 1950s and water operations in the Shenango Valley in the 1920s.

Today, Aqua has 18,000 customer accounts in its Struthers division, which covers areas such as Struthers, Poland, Lowellville and parts of Boardman and Canfield. The company has 21,000 customer accounts in western Pennsylvania, which extend as far east as Forest County. It also sells bulk water to Hubbard.

Aqua figures an average of three people per residential account, so it serves about 117,000 people in the Mahoning Valley and western Pennsylvania.

Water line maintenance is the biggest issue for both Aqua and municipal water systems, Liptak said.

Aqua has an annual budget for replacing pipe, but few municipal systems are investing enough in maintenance, he said. City officials often find it easy to avoid spending money on underground work, he said.

The cost of replacing pipe runs between $30 a foot and $150 a foot, depending on size of the pipe and the excavation work that’s needed, he said.

Cast iron pipe lasts an average of 100 years, so systems should be replacing 1 percent of their pipe each year, he said.

On the treatment side, governmental regulations are becoming more strict, which is making operations more expensive, he said.

Liptak said he used to think this would mean a big shift away from municipal systems, but now he’s not so sure.

“This is an emotional issue. Many communities are proud that they operate their own treatment plants,” he said.

That has been clear in the company’s dealings with Campbell and Sharpsville, Pa.

The company proposed buying Campbell’s system, but it was turned down by voters in a referendum in 2006. Aqua is now selling bulk water to the city.

Aqua first proposed buying Sharpsville’s system in 1987 but was rejected. In 2005, municipal officials approved a purchase, but it was turned down in a referendum. Rather than spend $10 million on a new treatment plant, officials then signed a contract to buy water from Aqua.

“It’s a challenge for us to go into that environment and challenge and suggest that there is an alternative for the community,” Liptak said.

The company is open to working with communities in different ways.

In New Middletown, the village owns the water system but leases operations to Aqua. The company reads meters, collects payments and makes repairs, and then it sends lease payments to the village.

Aqua owns the systems in communities such as Struthers and Lowellville.

“We try to develop a solution that works for everyone. It can’t be the same for everyone,” Liptak said.

shilling@vindy.com