History

The North Penn Water Authority (NPWA) began operating in 1965. For many years before that, area municipalities were thinking about the need for a regional water supplier. In 1958, a group of citizens from several local municipalities formed an Association known as the North Penn Water Resources Association in an effort to improve drinking water supplies in the region. NPWA was officially incorporated on August 10, 1964, in accordance with the provisions of the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, as amended. The seven incorporating municipalities were Lansdale Borough, Souderton Borough, Franconia Township, Hatfield Township, Lower Salford Township, Towamencin Township, and Worcester Township. Each municipality appointed one member to the NPWA Board for a five-year term, and that group comprised the original North Penn Water Authority (NPWA) Board.

In August of 1965, NPWA purchased and began officially operating the Lansdale and Souderton Borough water systems. Bids were soon received for the construction of a 16-inch transmission line to connect the Lansdale and Souderton distribution systems. Construction of a one million gallon water storage tank and pumping station was also authorized. While Souderton reservoir levels sank to dangerously low levels, NPWA crews worked around the clock in deep snow to hook up a pump borrowed from another water company. As water levels in the Souderton reservoir neared the empty mark, the pump was turned on and water began to flow between Lansdale and Souderton Boroughs.

In addition to providing water service to existing residents and new developments in the NPWA service area, NPWA continued to grow. In 1975, NPWA purchased four small water systems serving portions of Skippack Township and a small system in Hilltown Township.

In April of 1986, Skippack Township joined NPWA, followed by New Britain Township and Hatfield Borough in 1987. With the inclusion of Hatfield Borough, NPWA reached its current complement of 10 member municipalities.

NPWA began operating the New Britain Township Water System in August of 1987, and the Hatfield Borough system in February of 1988. Also in 1987, the North Penn Authority, along with the North Wales Water Authority, began construction of an Interim Treatment Plant at the Forest Park site in Chalfont Borough. The interim plant went on line in February of 1989, and construction on the permanent Forest Park Water Treatment Plant (FPWTP) began in June of 1991. The FPWTP officially went on line on June 21, 1994. The treatment plant is a state-of-the-art surface water filtration plant using conventional filtration plus the advanced treatment methods of granular activated carbon filtration and ozone disinfection. Purified water is then pumped to over 150,000 people in Central Bucks and Montgomery Counties who are the customers of the North Penn and North Wales Water Authorities. The Authorities are currently expanding the FPWTP to meet current water demands, and are continuing to ensure the facility remains state of the art by exploring the latest treatment methods, including the membrane water filtration method in the expanded plant.

What started out as a small water utility serving 7,000 customers has grown to providing water to almost 30,000 customers in 15 municipalities. There have been many changes over the last 40 years, but one thing has remained the same. NPWA is committed to bringing our customers a safe, reliable, and economical water supply now and into the future.