ELVERSON, PA — Aqua Pennsylvania is seeking state approval to expand its regulated water territory in West Nantmeal Township to serve part of a planned 10-lot commercial and industrial business park, a project that would add nearly 3,000 feet of water main at an estimated construction cost of $565,972.
The application, filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, identifies the project driving the expansion as the Hammell-O’Donnell Business Park along Chestnut Tree Road. Hammell-O’Donnell Properties LLC, which Aqua says is not affiliated with the utility, requested public water service for the development.
The proposed business park spans West Nantmeal and West Brandywine townships. Aqua already has authority to serve the West Brandywine portion, making the pending application necessary only for the territory within West Nantmeal.
The requested West Nantmeal territory encompasses approximately 111 acres, according to the legal description included with Aqua’s application.
The project is not yet approved. The Pennsylvania Bulletin published notice of the application Sept. 26 under docket A-2026-3065164 after the notice was filed for public inspection Sept. 25. Formal protests and petitions to intervene are due Oct. 13.
Under Aqua’s proposal, the developer would fund and install the water infrastructure and then contribute it to Aqua. The system would connect to an existing 12-inch Aqua main near Horseshoe Pike (Route 322) and Chestnut Tree Road.
Plans call for approximately 770 feet of 8-inch ductile-iron pipe along Chestnut Tree Road, followed by an internal network consisting of 2,210 feet of 8-inch ductile-iron main and 40 feet of high-density polyethylene pipe crossing two Sunoco pipelines. Six private fire hydrants are also proposed.
The developer’s preliminary estimate puts construction at $565,972, including $434,072 for water mains, $63,000 for hydrants and $68,900 for customer services. Aqua would not finance construction of those facilities because the developer would build and contribute them to the utility.
The application identifies several anticipated occupants. Lots 1 through 3 are proposed to be consolidated for a safety-equipment fabrication company, while another lot is slated for a commercial landscaping supply company. An electrical materials supplier and sewage pump station are planned for another lot, and a local site contractor would use two lots for equipment and material storage and a filling station for water wagons. Three lots did not have identified uses when Aqua filed the application.
At full buildout, Aqua anticipates eight domestic water meters and fire service for seven lots. The utility estimates annual domestic and fire-service revenue could range from about $35,979 under known or assumed uses to about $88,833 under a potential-use scenario.
Customers in the expanded territory would pay Aqua’s Rate Zone 1 rates, with each lot separately metered and its owner responsible for the water bill.
Aqua said the development would require an additional 0.2775 million gallons per month and certified that its UGS North system has sufficient supply, treatment, storage, and distribution capacity to meet that demand. Water would be supplied through Aqua’s interconnected UGS North and Spring Run systems.
The project also requires a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation permit for work at Chestnut Tree Road and Route 322. The developer has obtained an NPDES permit, while additional sewage-facility planning and a Water Quality Management permit would be required for the proposed pump station.
West Nantmeal Township previously granted conditional preliminary plan approval for the business park. The application also states that the Chester County Planning Commission found the development consistent with the Rural Landscape designation in the county’s Landscapes3 comprehensive plan.
Aqua said no municipally owned public water system serves West Nantmeal. Elverson Water Company has certificated territory elsewhere in the township but not within the requested territory or within one mile of it, according to Aqua’s filing. The utility also said, to its knowledge, West Nantmeal does not have a mandatory water-connection ordinance.
The developer had planned to break ground during the latter part of the third quarter of 2026. Aqua’s filing said the water extension could begin late in the fourth quarter or in early 2027, subject to PUC approval, and would take about four weeks to complete.
The PUC docket is available at https://www.puc.pa.gov/docket/A-2026-3065164.
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