Form 10-K
Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K

 

 

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file: number 001-34028

 

 

AMERICAN WATER WORKS COMPANY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   51-0063696

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

1025 Laurel Oak Road, Voorhees, NJ   08043
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

(856) 346-8200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Name of each exchange on

which registered

Common stock, par value $0.01 per share

  New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes þ    No ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes ¨    No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes þ    No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.    ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “small reporting company” in Rule 12(b)-2 of the Exchange Act.:

Large accelerated filer þ    Accelerated filer ¨    Non-accelerated filer ¨    Small reporting company ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes ¨    No þ

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

Common Stock, $0.01 par value—$3,335,885,725 as of June 30, 2009.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock as of the latest practicable date.

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share—174,670,026 shares, as of February 25, 2010.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

(1) Portions of the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Company’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page

Forward-Looking Statements

   1

Part I

  

Item 1. Business

   3

Item 1A. Risk Factors

   23

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

   35

Item 2. Properties

   35

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

   36

Item 4. (Reserved)

   37

Part II

  

Item  5. Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

   38

Item 6. Selected Financial Information

   38

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

   40

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

   84

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

   85

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

   138

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

   138

Item 9B. Other Information

   139

Part III

  

Item 10A. Directors, Executive Officers of the Registrant and Corporate Governance

   140

Item 10B. Executive Officers of the Registrant

   140

Item 11. Executive Compensation

   144

Item  12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

   144

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence

   144

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

   144

Part IV

  

Item 15. Exhibits

   144

Signatures

   145

Exhibit Index

   146


Table of Contents

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We have made statements under the captions “Business,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and in other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”), or incorporated certain statements by reference into this Form 10-K, that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words with prospective meanings such as “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “predict,” “project,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “future,” “potential,” “continue,” “may,” “can,” “should” and “could” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things, our future financial performance, our growth strategies, our ability to repay debt, our ability to finance current operations and growth initiatives, trends in our industry, regulatory or legal developments or rate adjustments.

Forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding future events. They are not guarantees of any outcomes, financial results or levels of performance, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon them. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and new risks and uncertainties of which we are not currently aware or which we do not currently perceive may arise in the future from time to time. Should any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our expectations or assumptions prove incorrect, then our results may vary materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements herein. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” and the following factors:

 

   

the decisions of governmental and regulatory bodies, including decisions to raise or lower rates;

 

   

the timeliness of regulatory commissions’ actions concerning rates;

 

   

changes in laws, governmental regulations and policies, including environmental, health and water quality and public utility regulations and policies;

 

   

weather conditions, patterns or events, including drought or abnormally high rainfall;

 

   

changes in customer demand for, and patterns of use of, water, such as may result from conservation efforts;

 

   

our ability to appropriately maintain current infrastructure and manage the expansion of our business;

 

   

our ability to obtain permits for projects;

 

   

changes in our capital requirements;

 

   

our ability to control operating expenses and to achieve efficiencies in our operations;

 

   

our ability to obtain adequate and cost-effective supplies of chemicals, electricity, fuel, water and other raw materials that are needed for our operations;

 

   

our ability to successfully acquire and integrate water and wastewater systems that are complementary to our operations and the growth of our business;

 

   

cost overruns relating to improvements or the expansion of our operations;

 

   

changes in general economic, business and financial market conditions;

 

   

significant changes to our business processes and corresponding technology;

 

   

access to sufficient capital on satisfactory terms;

 

   

fluctuations in interest rates;

 

   

restrictive covenants in or changes to the credit ratings on our current or future debt that could increase our financing costs or affect our ability to borrow, make payments on debt or pay dividends;

 

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fluctuations in the value of benefit plan assets and liabilities that could increase our cost and funding requirements;

 

   

the incurrence of impairment charges;

 

   

migration of customers into or out of our service territories;

 

   

difficulty in obtaining insurance at acceptable rates and on acceptable terms and conditions;

 

   

ability to retain and attract qualified employees; and

 

   

civil disturbance, labor strikes or terrorist threats or acts or public apprehension about future disturbances or terrorist threats or acts.

Any forward-looking statements we make, speak only as of the date of this Form 10-K. Except as required by law, we do not have any obligation, and we specifically disclaim any undertaking or intention, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

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PART I

 

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Our Company

American Water Works Company, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, is the most geographically diversified as well as the largest investor-owned United States water and wastewater utility company, as measured by both operating revenue and population served. Our more than 7,000 employees provide approximately 16 million people with drinking water, wastewater and other water-related services in 35 states and two Canadian provinces.

In 2009, we generated $2,440.7 million in total operating revenue and $173.6 million in operating income, which includes $450.0 million of impairment charges and a net loss of $233.1 million. In 2008, we generated $2,336.9 million in total operating revenue, representing approximately four times the operating revenue of the next largest investor-owned company in the United States water and wastewater business, and $186.9 million in operating loss, which includes $750.0 million of impairment charges relating to continuing operations and a net operating loss of $562.4 million.

We have two operating segments that are also the Company’s two reportable segments, which we refer to as the Regulated Businesses and Non-Regulated Businesses segments. For further details on our segments, see Note 22 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Without giving effect to inter-segment eliminations, for 2009, our Regulated Businesses generated $2,207.3 million in operating revenue, which accounted for 90.4% of total operating revenue. For the same period, our Non-Regulated Businesses generated $257.7 million in operating revenue, which accounted for 10.6% of total consolidated operating revenue.

For additional financial information, please see the financial statements and related notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

Our History as a Public Company

The Company was founded in 1886 as the American Water Works & Guarantee Company for the purposes of building and purchasing water systems in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. In 1935, the Company was reorganized under its current name, and in 1947 the common stock of the Company became publicly traded on the NYSE. Prior to being acquired in 2003 by RWE Aktiengesellschaft, which we refer to as RWE, a stock corporation incorporated in the Federal Republic of Germany, we were the largest publicly traded water utility company as measured by both operating revenue and population served in the United States.

Acquisition and Completed Divestiture by RWE

In 2003, we were acquired by RWE and were no longer a publicly traded company. In 2005, RWE decided to divest American Water and in March 2006, they decided to affect the divestiture through the sale of shares in one or more public offerings.

On April 28, 2008, RWE Aqua Holdings GmbH, a German limited liability company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of RWE, which then was the sole owner of the Company’s common stock, completed a partial divestiture of its investment through an initial public offering with the sale of 63.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock. Upon the completion of our initial public offering in April 2008, we again became listed on the NYSE under the symbol “AWK” and resumed our position as the largest publicly traded water utility company in the United States. As of December 31, 2008, RWE owned approximately 60% of the Company’s shares of common stock. On June 10, 2009 and August 18, 2009, RWE continued to divest of its

 

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investment in our common stock through public offerings of an additional 15.4 million shares and 40.3 million shares, respectively. On November 24, 2009, RWE completed the sale in a public offering of the remaining 41.1 million shares of our common stock, including 3.7 million shares sold upon underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option. As a result of the full exercise of the underwriter’s option, RWE fully divested of our common stock.

Regulated Businesses Overview

Our primary business involves the ownership of water and wastewater utilities that provide water and wastewater services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Our subsidiaries that provide these services are generally subject to economic regulation by certain state commissions or other entities engaged in economic regulation, hereafter referred to as “PUCs” in the states in which they operate. The federal government and the states also regulate environmental, health and safety, and water quality matters. We report the results of this business in our Regulated Businesses segment. For 2009, operating revenue for our Regulated Businesses was $2,207.3 million prior to inter-segment eliminations, accounting for 90.4% of total operating revenue for the same period. Regulated Business operating revenues were $2,082.7 million for 2008 and $1,987.6 million for 2007 accounting for 89.1% and 89.8% respectively, of total operating revenues for the same periods.

The following charts set forth operating revenue for 2009 and customers as of December 31, 2009, for the states in which our Regulated Businesses provide services:

 

Regulated Businesses Operating Revenue

(dollars in millions)

  Regulated Businesses Customers

LOGO

Non-Regulated Businesses Overview

We also provide services that are not subject to economic regulation by state PUCs through our Non-Regulated Businesses. Our Non-Regulated Businesses include our:

 

   

Contract Operations Group, which enters into public/private partnerships, including Operations and Maintenance, which we refer to as O&M contracts, and Design, Build and Operate, which we refer to as DBO contracts for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities for municipalities, the

 

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United States military and other customers. In December 2009, we acquired Environmental Management Corporation (“EMC”), which provides integrated solutions for water, wastewater and other related assets to industrial and municipal customers in the United States and Canada.

 

   

Applied Water Management Group, which works with customers to design and build small water and wastewater treatment plants;

 

   

Homeowner Services Group, which provides services to domestic homeowners to protect against the cost of repairing broken or leaking pipes inside and outside their homes; and

 

   

Terratec Environmental Ltd., which we refer to as Terratec, which primarily provides wastewater, residuals transport, disposal and management services to municipal and industrial customers.

We report the results of these lines of business in our Non-Regulated Businesses segment. For 2009, operating revenue for our Non-Regulated Businesses was $257.7 million prior to inter-segment eliminations, accounting for 10.6% of total operating revenue for the same period. Non-Regulated Business operating revenues were $272.2 million for 2008 and $242.7 million for 2007 accounting for 11.6% and 11.0% respectively, of total operating revenues for the same periods.

Our Industry

Overview

The United States water and wastewater industry has two main segments: (i) utility, which involves supplying water and wastewater services to consumers; and (ii) general services, which involves providing water and wastewater related services to water and wastewater utilities and other customers on a contract basis.

The utility segment includes municipal systems that are owned and operated by local governments or governmental subdivisions, and investor-owned systems. The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) estimates that government-owned systems make up the vast majority of the United States water and wastewater utility segment, accounting for approximately 84% of all United States community water systems and approximately 98% of all United States community wastewater systems. Investor-owned water and wastewater systems account for the remainder of the United States water and wastewater community water systems. Growth of service providers in the regulated utility segment is achieved through acquisitions, including small water and wastewater systems, typically serving fewer than 10,000 customers that are in close geographic proximity to our Regulated Business operations. These smaller acquisitions we refer to as “tuck-ins,” of other water and wastewater systems and organic growth of the population served by such providers.

The utility segment is characterized by high barriers to entry, including high capital spending requirements. Investor-owned water and wastewater utilities also face regulatory approval processes in order to do business, which may involve obtaining relevant operating approvals, including certificates of public convenience and necessity (or similar authorizations) from state PUCs. Investor-owned water and wastewater systems are generally subject to economic regulation by the state PUCs in the states in which they operate. The federal government and the states also regulate environmental, health and safety and water quality matters for both investor-owned and government-owned water and wastewater utilities.

The general services segment includes engineering and consulting companies and numerous other fee-for-service businesses. These include the building and operating of water and wastewater utility systems, system repair services, lab services, sale of water infrastructure and distribution products (such as pipes) and other specialized services. The general services segment is characterized by aggressive competition and market-driven growth and profit margins.

 

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The aging water and wastewater infrastructure in the United States is in constant need of modernization and facilities replacement. Increased regulations to improve water quality and the management of wastewater discharges, which began with passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, have been among the primary drivers of the need for modernization. The EPA estimates that approximately $335 billion of capital spending will be necessary between 2007 and 2026 to replace aging infrastructure and to comply with quality standards to ensure quality water systems across the United States. In addition, the EPA estimates that approximately $390 billion of capital spending will be necessary over the next 20 years to replace aging infrastructure and ensure quality wastewater systems across the United States.

The following chart sets forth estimated capital expenditure needs from 2007 through 2026 for United States water systems:

LOGO

Capital expenditures related to municipal water supply, treatment and distribution and wastewater collection and treatment facilities are typically funded by water and wastewater rates, taxes or the issuance of bonds. However, raising large amounts of funds is challenging for municipal water utilities, which impacts their ability to increase capital spending. In order to meet their capital spending challenges, many municipalities are examining a combination of privatizations and partnerships with the private sector. Privatization typically involves a transfer of responsibility for the operation of the utility from the municipality to the private sector; and in some cases may involve ownership transfer, normally for specified long-term periods with transfer back to the municipality at expiration of the term of the agreement. Partnerships between municipalities and the private sector include arrangements like O&M, DBO, Design, Build Operate/Maintain and Design, Build, Own, Operate/Maintain and Transfer contracts. Under these types of contracts, the municipality either retains ownership or regains ownership of the water and/or wastewater system and the private sector takes responsibility for managing and operating the system.

 

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Over the next several years, we estimate that Company-funded capital investment will total between $800 million and $1 billion per year. Our capital investment includes both infrastructure renewal programs, where we replace existing infrastructure, as needed, and construction of facilities to meet new customer growth. The charts below set forth our estimated percentage of projected capital expenditures by asset type and purpose of investment, respectively:

LOGO

Fragmentation and Consolidation

According to the EPA, the utility segment of the United States water and wastewater industry is highly fragmented, with approximately 52,000 community water systems and approximately 16,000 community wastewater facilities. As shown in the charts below, the majority of the approximately 52,000 community water systems are very small, serving a population of 500 or less.

The following charts set forth the total United States water industry by system type and the total population served by system type, respectively, for 2008: (Water Statistics):

 

Number of United States Water Systems by Type:*   United States Population Served by Water System Type:*

LOGO

 

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This large number of relatively small water and wastewater utilities results in inefficiencies in the marketplace, since smaller utilities may not have the operating expertise, financial and technological capability or economies of scale to provide services or raise capital as efficiently as larger utilities. These inefficiencies may lead to industry consolidation in the future, as the larger investor-owned utilities acquire smaller, local water and wastewater systems. Larger utilities that have greater access to capital are generally more capable of making mandated and other necessary infrastructure upgrades to both water and wastewater systems. In addition, water and wastewater utilities with large customer bases, spread across broad geographic regions, may more easily absorb the impact of adverse weather, such as droughts, excessive rain and cool temperatures in specific areas. Larger utilities generally are able to spread overhead expenses over a larger customer base, thereby reducing the costs to serve each customer. Since many administrative and support activities can be efficiently centralized to gain economies of scale and sharing of best practices, companies that participate in industry consolidation have the potential to improve operating efficiencies, lower unit costs and improve service at the same time.

Water and Wastewater Rates

Investor-owned water and wastewater utilities generate operating revenue from customers based on rates that are established by state PUCs through a rate-setting process that may include public hearings, evidentiary hearings and the submission by the utility of evidence and testimony in support of the requested level of rates. In evaluating a rate case, state PUCs typically focus on five areas: (i) the amount and prudence of investment in facilities considered “used and useful” in providing public service; (ii) the operating and maintenance costs and taxes associated with providing the service (typically by making reference to a representative 12-month period of time, known as a test year); (iii) the appropriate rate of return; (iv) the tariff or rate design that allocates operating revenue requirements equitably across the customer base; and (v) the quality of service the utility provides, including issues raised by customers.

For most consumers, water and wastewater bills make up a relatively small percentage of household expenditures compared to other utility services.

The following chart sets forth the relative cost of water in the United States as a percentage of total household utility expenditures:

LOGO

Our Regulated Businesses

Our core Regulated Businesses, which consist of locally managed utility subsidiaries that generally are economically regulated by the states in which they operate, accounted for approximately 90.4% of our consolidated operating revenue in 2009. Our Regulated Businesses provide a high degree of financial stability because: (i) high barriers to entry provide limited protection from competitive pressures; (ii) economic regulation

 

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promotes predictability in financial planning and long-term performance through the rate-setting process; and (iii) our largely residential customer base promotes consistent operating results.

The following table sets forth operating revenue for 2009 and number of customers as well as an estimate of population served as of December 31, 2009 for our regulated subsidiaries in the states where our Regulated Businesses provide services:

 

     Operating
Revenue
($ in millions)
   % of Total     Number of
Customers
   % of Total     Estimated
Population
Served
(In Millions)
   % of Total  

New Jersey(a)

   $ 560.3    25.4   644,273    19.3   2.5    20.9

Pennsylvania

     459.8    20.8   652,277    19.6   2.2    18.3

Missouri

     203.8    9.2   457,496    13.7   1.5    12.5

Illinois(b)

     197.4    8.9   308,476    9.3   1.2    10.0

Indiana

     157.4    7.1   283,088    8.5   1.2    10.0

California

     142.7    6.5   171,854    5.2   0.6    5.0

West Virginia(c)

     120.2    5.5   172,006    5.2   0.6    5.0
                                   

Subtotal (Top Seven States)

     1,841.6    83.4   2,689,470    80.8   9.8    81.7

Other(d)

     365.7    16.6   641,459    19.2   2.2    18.3
                                   

Total Regulated Businesses

   $ 2,207.3    100.0   3,330,929    100.0   12.0    100.0
                                   

 

(a) Includes New Jersey American-Water Company, Inc., which we refer to as NJAWC, and Applied Wastewater Management Inc., which we refer to as AWWM (also regulated in New Jersey)
(b) Includes Illinois-American Water Company, which we refer to as ILAWC and American Lake Water Company, also a regulated subsidiary in Illinois
(c) West Virginia-American Water Company, which we refer to as WVAWC, and its subsidiary Bluefield Valley Water Works Company
(d) Includes data from our operating subsidiaries in the following states: Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Approximately 83.4% of operating revenue from our Regulated Businesses in 2009 was generated from approximately 2.7 million customers in our seven largest states, as measured by operating revenues. In fiscal year 2009, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of our annual operating revenue.

Overview of Networks, Facilities and Water Supply

Our Regulated Businesses operate in approximately 1,600 communities in 20 states in the United States. Our primary operating assets include approximately 80 surface water treatment plants, 600 groundwater treatment plants, 1,200 groundwater wells, 50 wastewater treatment facilities, 1,200 treated water storage facilities, 1,200 pumping stations and 100 dams and 49,000 miles of mains and collection pipes. We own substantially all of the assets used by our Regulated Businesses. We generally own the land and physical assets used to store, extract and treat source water. Typically, we do not own the water itself, which is held in public trust and is allocated to us through contracts and allocation rights granted by federal and state agencies or through the ownership of water rights pursuant to local law.

Maintaining the reliability of our networks is a key activity of our Regulated Businesses. We have ongoing main renewal programs in all states in which our Regulated Businesses operate. These programs consist of both rehabilitation of existing mains and replacement of mains that have reached the end of their useful service life. The decision of whether to replace or rehabilitate our mains is subject to considerations of age, cost, feasibility and customer service impact.

 

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Our Regulated Businesses are dependent upon a defined source of water supply. Our Regulated Businesses obtain their water supply from surface water sources such as reservoirs, lakes and rivers and streams. In addition, we also obtain water from wells and purchase water from other water suppliers.

The following chart sets forth the sources of water supply for our Regulated Businesses for 2009 by volume:

LOGO

In our long-term planning, we are always evaluating quality, quantity, growth needs and alternate sources. Sources of supply are seasonal in nature and weather conditions can have a pronounced effect on supply. In order to ensure that we have adequate sources of water supply, we use comprehensive planning processes and maintain drought and emergency plans to minimize the impact on service through a wide range of weather fluctuations. In connection with supply planning for most surface or groundwater sources, we employ sophisticated models to determine safe yields under different rainfall and drought conditions. Surface and groundwater levels are routinely monitored for all supplies so that supply capacity may be predicted and mitigated, as needed, through demand management and additional supply development.

The percentage of finished water supply by source type for our top seven states by Regulated Businesses revenues is as follows:

 

     Ground Water     Surface water     Purchased water  

New Jersey

   24   71   5

Pennsylvania

   7   92   1

Illinois

   35   54   11

Missouri(a)

   13   86   1

Indiana

   56   43   1

California(b)

   69   1   30

West Virginia

   —        100   —     

 

(a) Limitations in our Joplin service area where the projected source of water supply capacity is unable to meet projected peak demands under drought conditions. To manage this issue on the demand side, the water use of a large industrial customer has been restricted under an interruptible tariff. Additional wells have been and will be developed to address short-term supply deficiencies. Missouri-American Water Company is working with a consortium of agencies to determine a long-term supply solution for the Joplin, Missouri region.
(b) In Monterey, in order to ensure that we have adequate sources of water supply, we have implemented conservation rates and other programs to address demand, have invested in aquifer storage and recovery facilities as well as worked to develop solutions like the regional desalination plant. We also are designing new groundwater wells in our Larkfield district, and in other areas, we are making arrangements to extend or expand our purchase of water from neighboring water providers. As part of our San Clemente Dam project, under the supervision of the Division of Safety of Dams, we also have been investigating alternatives for complying with seismic safety requirements at our San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River, including strengthening or removing the dam.

 

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The level of water treatment that we apply varies significantly depending upon the quality of the water source. Surface water sources, such as rivers, typically require significant filtration, while some groundwater sources, such as aquifers, require chemical treatment only. In addition, a small amount of treated water is purchased from neighboring water purveyors. Treated water is transported through an extensive transmission and distribution network, which includes underground pipes, above ground storage facilities and numerous pumping facilities with the ultimate distribution of the treated water to the customers’ premises. We also have installed meters to measure the water that we deliver through our distribution network. We employ a variety of methods of meter reading to monitor consumption; ranging from basic mechanical meters read by traveling meter readers to remote “drive-by” electronic meter reading equipment. The majority of new meters are able to support future advances in electronic meter reading.

The provision of wastewater services involves the collection of wastewater from customers’ premises through sewer lines. The wastewater is then transported through a sewer network to a treatment facility, where it is treated to meet required effluent standards. The treated wastewater is finally returned to the environment as effluent, and the solid waste byproduct of the treatment process is disposed of in accordance with local standards.

Customers

We have a large and geographically diverse customer base in our Regulated Businesses. For the purposes of our Regulated Businesses, each customer represents a connection to our water and/or wastewater networks. As in the case of apartment complexes, businesses and many homes, multiple individuals may be served by a single connection.

Residential customers make up the large majority of customers in all of the states in which we operate. In 2009, residential customers accounted for 91.2% of the customers and 58.8% of the operating revenue of our Regulated Businesses. Residential customers are highly predictable water and wastewater services consumers and they generate stable operating revenue over time and across regions. We also serve commercial customers, such as shops and businesses, industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturing and production operations, and public authorities, such as government buildings and other public sector facilities, including schools. We supply water to private fire customers for use in fire suppression systems in office buildings and other facilities and also provide bulk water supplies to other water utilities that distribute them to their own customers.

The following table sets forth the number of water and wastewater customers (by customer class) for our Regulated Businesses as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007:

 

     December 31,
     2009    2008    2007
     Water    Wastewater    Water    Wastewater    Water    Wastewater

Residential

   2,889,315    149,969    2,883,903    149,007    2,878,971    140,993

Commercial

   226,581    6,552    225,421    6,540    226,407    6,158

Industrial

   4,375    13    4,537    14    4,644    13

Private fire

   37,911    4    36,753    4    35,465    10

Public authority & other

   16,008    201    16,023    221    16,090    197
                             

Total

   3,174,190    156,739    3,166,637    155,786    3,161,577    147,371
                             

 

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The following table sets forth water services operating revenue by customer class and wastewater services operating revenue, excluding other water revenues, for our Regulated Businesses for 2009, 2008 and 2007:

 

     Year Ended December 31,
     2009    2008    2007
          (in millions)     

Water service

        

Residential

   $ 1,263.2    $ 1,197.7    $ 1,146.1

Commercial

     425.7      403.6      385.3

Industrial

     99.7      101.8      94.7

Public and other

     272.0      255.6      247.6
                    

Total water services

   $ 2,060.6    $ 1,958.7    $ 1,873.7

Wastewater services

     89.7      79.9      75.6
                    

Total

   $ 2,150.3    $ 2,038.6    $ 1,949.3
                    

Substantially, all of our regulated water customers are metered, which allows us to measure and bill for our customers’ water consumption, typically on a monthly basis. Our wastewater customers are billed either on a fixed charge basis or based on their water consumption.

Customer usage of water is affected by weather conditions, particularly, during the summer. Our water systems experience higher demand in the summer due to the warmer temperatures and increased usage by customers for lawn irrigation and other outdoor uses. Summer weather that is cooler and wetter than average generally serves to suppress customer water demand and can have a downward effect on water operating revenue and operating income. Conversely, when weather conditions are extremely dry, our systems may be affected by drought-related warnings and/or water usage restrictions imposed by governmental agencies, also serving to reduce customer demand and operating revenue. These restrictions may be imposed at a regional or state level and may affect our service areas, regardless of our readiness to meet unrestricted customer demands. Other factors affecting our customers’ usage of water includes: declining household sizes in the United States; conservation initiatives, including the use of more efficient household fixtures and appliances among residential consumers; and the recent deterioration in the economy and credit markets which is having an adverse impact on our industrial and commercial customers’ operational and financial performance.

Supplies

Our water and wastewater operations require an uninterrupted supply of chemicals, energy and fuel, as well as maintenance material and other critical inputs. Many of these inputs are subject to short-term price volatility. Long-term volatility is partially mitigated through existing procurement contracts, current supplier continuity plans and the regulatory rate setting process.

Because of our geographic diversity, we maintain relationships with many chemical, equipment and service suppliers in the marketplace, and we do not rely on any single entity for a material amount of our supplies. We also employ a strategic sourcing process intended to ensure reliability in supply and long-term cost effectiveness. As a result of our strategic sourcing process and our strong relationships with suppliers, we are able to mitigate interruptions in the delivery of the products and services that are critical to our operations. For example, during Hurricane Katrina, we were challenged to locate chemical suppliers not affected by the hurricane. As a result of our previously negotiated and established relationships with a network of preferred suppliers, we were able to secure a supply of materials and to continue our operations in the affected areas without interruptions.

We have back-up energy sources at key facilities or alternative sources are available to us that are able to keep our operations running in the event of a temporary loss of our primary energy supplies.

 

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Regulation

Economic Regulation

Our subsidiaries in the states in which we operate our Regulated Businesses are generally subject to extensive economic regulation by their respective state PUCs. The term “economic regulation” is intended to indicate that these state PUCs regulate the economic aspects of service to the public from systems that fall within their jurisdiction, but do not generally establish water quality standards, that are set by the EPA and/or state environmental authorities and enforced through state environmental or health agencies. State PUCs have broad authority (derived from state laws and state constitutions under which they operate) to regulate many of the economic aspects of the utilities that fall within their jurisdiction. For example, state PUCs issue certificates of public convenience and necessity (or similar authorizations) that may be required for a company to provide public utility services in specific areas of the state. They also must approve the rates and conditions under which service is provided to customers and have extensive authority to establish rules and regulations under which the utilities operate. Although specific authority might differ from state to state, in most states, these state PUCs must approve rates, accounting treatments, long-term financing programs, significant capital expenditures and plant additions, transactions between the regulated subsidiary and affiliated entities, reorganizations and mergers and acquisitions, in many instances prior to their completion. The jurisdiction exercised by each state PUC is prescribed by state laws and regulations and therefore varies from state to state. Regulatory policies not only vary from state to state, they may change over time. These policies will affect the timing as well as the extent of recovery of expenses and the realized return on invested capital.

Economic regulation of utilities deals with many competing, and occasionally conflicting, public interests and policy goals. The primary responsibility of state PUCs is to achieve the overall public interest by balancing the interests of customers and the utility and its stockholders. Although the specific approach to economic regulation does vary, certain general principles are consistent across the states in which our regulated subsidiaries operate. Based on the United States Constitution and state constitutions that prohibit confiscation of property without due process of law and just compensation, as well as state statutory provisions and court precedent, utilities are entitled to recover, through rates charged to customers, prudent and reasonable operating costs as well as an opportunity to earn an appropriate return on and recovery of our prudent, used and useful capital investment necessary to provide service to customers. The state PUCs will also generally accord a utility the right to serve specific areas and will also provide investor-owned utilities with limited protection from competition because the requirement of an investor-owned utility to operate pursuant to a certificate of public convenience and necessity (or similar authorizations) typically prevents other investor-owned utilities from competing with it in the authorized area. In return, the utility undertakes to provide reliable service on a nondiscriminatory basis to all customers within the authorized area.

Our operating revenue is typically determined by reference to a volumetric charge based on consumption and a base fee component set by a tariff approved by the relevant state PUC. Certain states have utilized a full or partial single rate policy, under which all customers in a state or certain regions within a state are charged utilizing a single rate structure, regardless of which of our individual systems serves them. The single tariff structure is based on costs that are determined on a state-wide or intra-state regional basis, thereby moderating the impact of periodic fluctuations in local costs while lowering administrative costs for us and our customers.

The process to obtain approval for a change in rates involves filing a petition or rate case with the state PUC on a periodic basis as determined by our capital expenditures needs and our operating costs. Rate cases are normally initiated by the regulated utility whenever the utility determines it needs to recover increased operating expenses or a return on new capital investment, or otherwise determines that its current authorized return is not sufficient, given current market conditions, to provide a reasonable return on investment. Typically a rate case will not be filed, however, unless the current or expected future return is below the allowed rate of return currently authorized by the regulator. A state PUC may also initiate a rate proceeding or investigation if it believes a utility may be earning in excess of its authorized rate of return. Rate cases often involve a lengthy and

 

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costly administrative process. The utility, the state PUC staff, consumer advocates, and any other interveners who may participate in the process, prepare and file evidence, consisting of supporting testimony and documentation. This is presented in public hearings in connection with the rate case. These hearings, which are economic and service quality fact-finding in nature, are typically conducted in a trial-like setting before the state PUC or an administrative law judge. During the process, the utility is required to provide staff and interveners with all relevant information they may request concerning the utility’s operations, expenses and investments. The sworn evidentiary record then forms the basis for a state PUC decision.

Some state PUCs are more restrictive than others with regard to the types of expenses and investments that may be recovered in rates as well as with regard to the transparency of their rate-making processes and how they reach their final rate determinations. However, in evaluating a rate case, state PUCs typically focus on five areas:

 

   

the amount and prudence of investment in facilities considered “used and useful” in providing public service;

 

   

the operating and maintenance costs and taxes associated with providing the service (typically by making reference to a representative 12-month period of time, known as a test year);

 

   

the appropriate rate of return;

 

   

the tariff or rate design that allocates revenue requirements equitably among the customer classes; and

 

   

the quality of service the utility provides, including issues raised by customers.

The decisions of state PUCs and the timing of those decisions can have a significant impact on the operations and earnings of our Regulated Businesses. Rate cases and other rate-related proceedings can take several months to over a year to complete. Therefore, there is frequently a delay, or regulatory lag, between the time one of our regulated subsidiaries makes a capital investment or incurs an operating expense increase and when those costs are reflected in rates. For instance, an unexpected increase in chemical costs or new capital investment that is not appropriately reflected in the most recently completed rate case will generally not be recovered by the regulated subsidiary until the next rate case is filed and approved by the state PUC. Our rate case management program is guided by the goals of obtaining efficient recovery of costs of capital and utility operating and maintenance costs, including costs incurred for compliance with environmental regulations. The management team at each of our regulated subsidiaries anticipates the time required for the regulatory process and files a rate case with the goal of obtaining rates that reflect as closely as possible the cost of providing service at the time the rates become effective. Even if rates are sufficient, we face the risk that we will not achieve the rates of return on our invested capital and a return of our invested capital that are permitted by the state PUC.

Our regulated subsidiaries also pursue methods to minimize the adverse impact of regulatory lag and have worked with state PUCs and legislatures to implement a number of approaches to achieve this result. A number of states in which our Regulated Businesses operate have adopted efficient rate policies, including some form of single tariff pricing, forward-looking test years, pass-through provisions or infrastructure surcharges. States that have adopted a full or partially single tariff pricing policy include: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa.

Forward-looking test years and infrastructure surcharges reduce the regulatory lag associated with the traditional method of recovering rates from state PUCs. Forward-looking test year mechanisms allow us to earn, on a more timely basis, a return of our current or projected costs and a rate of return on our current or projected invested capital and other “known and measurable changes” in our business. Some states have permitted use of a fully forecasted test year instead of historical data to set rates. Examples of these states include: Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Tennessee and California. In all states in which we operate on a regulated basis, PUCs have allowed utilities to update historical data for some changes that occur for some limited period of time

 

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subsequent to the historical test year. This allows utilities to take account of some more current costs or capital investments in the rate-setting process. The extent to which historical data can be updated will generally vary from state to state and whether the changes are known and measurable.

Also, an increasing number of states are permitting rates to be adjusted outside of a general rate case for certain costs, such as a return on capital investments to replace aging infrastructure or increases in expenses beyond the utility’s control, such as purchased water costs. This infrastructure surcharge mechanism allows our rates to be adjusted and charged to customers outside the context of a general rate proceeding for pre-specified portions of our capital expenditures to replace aging infrastructure closer to the time these capital projects are placed in service. For example, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, New York, California and Ohio are examples of states that have in the past allowed tariffs that permit the imposition of surcharges on customers’ bills for infrastructure replacement. New Jersey, California, Virginia and Illinois have allowed surcharges for purchased water costs. California has allowed surcharges for power and conservation, and New York has allowed surcharges for certain costs such as power and chemicals. These constructive regulatory mechanisms encourage us to maintain a steady capital expenditure program to repair and improve water and wastewater systems as needed by reducing the regulatory lag on the recovery of prudent expenditures.

Also, some of the states in which we operate permit pass-through provisions that allow for an increase in certain operating costs, such as purchased power and property taxes to be passed on to and recovered from customers outside of a general rate case proceeding.

Another regulatory mechanism to address issues of regulatory lag includes the potential ability, in certain circumstances, to recover in rates a return on utility plant before it is in service, instead of capitalizing an allowance for funds used during construction. Examples of states that have allowed such recovery include: Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois and California.

In addition, some states have permitted us to seek pre-approval of certain capital projects and associated costs. In this pre-approval process, the PUCs assess the prudency of such projects.

Recently, the state of California has decoupled revenues from water sold. This progressive regulation enables utilities to focus on conservation as revenues are not tied to sales. Also, as a result of this regulation, utilities would be less susceptible to consumption changes as a result of weather conditions.

The ability of the Company to seek regulatory treatment as described above does not guarantee that the state PUCs will accept the Company’s proposal in the context of a particular rate case. However, the Company strives to use these and other regulatory policies to address issues of regulatory lag wherever appropriate and to expand their use in areas where they may not currently apply.

Environmental, Health and Safety and Water Quality Regulation

Our water and wastewater operations are subject to extensive United States federal, state and local, and in the case of our Canadian operations, Canadian laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment, health and safety, the quality of the water we deliver to our customers, water allocation rights and the manner in which we collect, treat, discharge and dispose of wastewater. We are also subject to certain regulations regarding fire protection services in the areas we serve. These regulations include the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act and other federal, state, local and Canadian laws and regulations governing the provision of water and wastewater services, particularly with respect to the quality of water we distribute. We also are subject to various federal, state, local and Canadian laws and regulations governing the storage of hazardous materials, the management and disposal of hazardous and solid wastes, discharges to air and water, the cleanup of contaminated sites, dam safety and other matters relating to the protection of the environment and health and safety. State PUCs also set conditions and standards for the water and wastewater services we deliver.

 

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We maintain a comprehensive environmental policy including: responsible business practices, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, effective use of natural resources, and stewardship of biodiversity. We believe that our operations are in material compliance with, and in many cases surpass, minimum standards required by applicable environmental laws and regulations. Water samples across our water system are analyzed on a regular basis in material compliance with regulatory requirements. Across the Company, we conduct over one million water quality tests each year at our laboratory facilities and plant operations including continuous on-line instrumentations such as monitoring turbidity levels, disinfectant residuals and adjustments to chemical treatment based on changes in incoming water. For 2009, we achieved greater than a 99.9% compliance rate for meeting state and federal drinking water standards and 99.5% for compliance with wastewater requirements.

We participate in the Partnership for Safe Water, the United States EPA’s voluntary program to meet more stringent goals for increasing protection against microbial contaminants. With 67 of our plants receiving the program’s “Director” award, we account for approximately one-third of all plants receiving such award nationwide and almost all of the 67 plants have maintained the award for more than five years.

Safe Drinking Water Act

The Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and regulations promulgated thereunder establish national quality standards for drinking water. The EPA has issued rules governing the levels of numerous naturally occurring and man-made chemical and microbial contaminants and radionuclides allowable in drinking water and continues to propose new rules. These rules also prescribe testing requirements for detecting contaminants, the treatment systems which may be used for removing contaminants and other requirements. Federal and state water quality requirements have become increasingly more stringent, including increased water testing requirements, to reflect public health concerns.

For example, in 2001, the EPA decreased permissible arsenic levels in drinking water and required compliance by water systems by January 2006. In 2003, a new EPA rule governing non-radon radionuclides became effective regulating uranium in drinking water for the first time and requiring initial monitoring under state programs by the end of 2007. We believe that we are in material compliance with both of these rules.

In order to remove or inactivate microbial organisms, the EPA has promulgated various rules to improve the disinfection and filtration of drinking water and to reduce consumers’ exposure to disinfectants and byproducts of the disinfection process. In January 2006, the EPA promulgated the Long-term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule and the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproduct Rule. In October 2006, the EPA finalized the Ground Water Rule, applicable to water systems providing water from underground sources. In 2006, the EPA also proposed revisions to the monitoring and reporting requirements of the existing Lead and Copper Rule. In 2010, we anticipate that the EPA will propose revisions to the Total Coliform Rule. We have been actively involved in the revisions to this rule and was part of a Federal Advisory Committee appointed to negotiate the changes.

Although it is difficult to project the ultimate costs of complying with the above or other pending or future requirements, we do not expect current requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act to have a material impact on our operations or financial condition. In addition, capital expenditures and operating costs to comply with environmental mandates traditionally have been recognized by state public utility commissions as appropriate for inclusion in establishing rates. As a result, we expect to fully recover the operating and capital costs resulting from these pending or future requirements.

Clean Water Act

The Federal Clean Water Act regulates discharges from drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities into lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater. In addition to requirements applicable to our wastewater collection systems, our operations require discharge permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System,

 

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NPDES, permit program established under the Clean Water Act. Pursuant to the NPDES program, the EPA or implementing states set maximum discharge limits for wastewater effluents and overflows from wastewater collection systems. We believe that we maintain the necessary permits and approvals for the discharges from our water and wastewater facilities. From time to time, discharge violations occur at our facilities, some of which result in fines. We do not expect any such violations or fines to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

Other Environmental, Health and Safety and Water Quality Matters

Our operations also involve the use, storage and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. For example, our water and wastewater treatment facilities store and use chlorine and other chemicals that generate wastes which require proper handling and disposal under applicable environmental requirements. We also could incur remedial costs in connection with any contamination relating to our operations or facilities or our off-site disposal of wastes. Although we are not aware of any material cleanup or decontamination obligations, the discovery of contamination or the imposition of such obligations in the future could result in additional costs. Our facilities and operations also are subject to requirements under the United States Occupational Safety and Health Act and are subject to inspections thereunder. For further information, see “Business—Research and Development.”

Certain of our subsidiaries are involved in pending legal proceedings relating to environmental matters. These proceedings are described further in the section entitled “Item 3—Legal Proceedings.”

Competition and Condemnation

In our Regulated Businesses, we generally do not face direct or indirect competition in providing services in our existing markets because: (i) we operate within those markets pursuant to certificates of public convenience and necessity (or similar authorizations) issued by state PUCs; and (ii) the high cost of constructing a new water and wastewater system in an existing market creates a barrier to market entry. Our Regulated Businesses do face competition from governmental agencies, other investor-owned utilities and strategic buyers in connection with entering new markets and making strategic acquisitions. Consolidation is changing the competitive landscape as small local utilities struggle to meet their capital spending requirements and look to partner with investor-owned utilities. We also face competition in offering services to new real estate developers, where we compete with others on the basis of the financial terms we offer for our services, the availability of water and our ability to commence providing services on a timely basis. Our largest investor-owned competitors, based on a comparison of operating revenues and population served, are Aqua America Inc., United Water (owned by Suez Environment Company S.A.), American States Water Co. and California Water Services Group.

The certificates of public convenience and necessity (or similar authorizations) pursuant to which we operate our Regulated Businesses do not prevent municipalities from competing with us to provide water and wastewater utility services. Further, the potential exists that portions of our subsidiaries’ utility assets could be acquired by municipalities or other local government entities through one or more of the following methods:

 

   

eminent domain (also known as condemnation);

 

   

the right of purchase given or reserved by a municipality or political subdivision when the original certificate was granted; and

 

   

the right of purchase given or reserved under the law of the state in which the utility subsidiary was incorporated or from which it received its certificate.

The sale price for such a transaction initiated by a local government may be determined consistent with applicable eminent domain law, or the price may be negotiated or fixed by appraisers as prescribed by the law of the state or in the particular franchise or charter. We believe our operating subsidiaries would be entitled to fair

 

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market value for any assets required to be sold, and we are of the opinion that fair market value would be in excess of the book value for such assets.

We are periodically subject to condemnation proceedings in the ordinary course of business. On September 5, 2008, pursuant to a condemnation proceeding, California American Water sold the assets of our Felton, California water system, which served approximately 1,330 customers, to the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. The most recent prior sale of our water and wastewater systems under threat of condemnation occurred in 2003. We actively monitor condemnation activities that may affect us as soon as we become aware of them. We do not believe that condemnation poses a material threat to our ability to operate our Regulated Businesses.

Our Non-Regulated Businesses

In addition to our Regulated Businesses, we operate the following Non-Regulated Businesses, which generated $257.7 million of operating revenue in 2009 representing 10.6% of total operating revenue for the same periods. Of the groups outlined below, no single group within our Non-Regulated Businesses generates in excess of 10% of our aggregate revenue.

Contract Operations Group

Our Contract Operations Group enters into public/private partnerships, including O&M and DBO contracts for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities for municipalities, the United States military and other customers. We typically make no capital investment under our contracts with municipalities and other customers; instead performing our services for a fee. We may make limited capital investments under our contracts with the United States military and certain industrial customers. Our Contract Operations Group generated revenue of $156.1 million in 2009, representing 60.6% of revenue for our Non-Regulated Businesses.

We are currently party to 52 contracts across the United States and Canada, with contracts ranging in term from three to 50 years. The services provided under our O&M contracts vary in size and scope. For instance, 44 of our O&M contracts are operational in nature with repair and replace elements but not DBOs. Annual operating revenue from the O&M contracts varies from $0.3 million to $8.2 million per contract. In addition, we are an active participant in the United States Department of Defense’s Utility Privatization Program, or UPP. The Department of Defense has awarded us nine 50-year contracts for the operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater systems since 2003, and we have one 3-year sub-contract with a municipality, acting as primary contractor with the Department of Defense, for similar services on an interim basis until construction of new connections to an existing municipal facility is completed. Remaining lifetime revenue under all these O&M contracts total approximately $3,402.0 million as of December 31, 2009. All of the contracts with the U.S. government may be terminated, in whole or in part, prior to the end of the 50-year term for convenience of the U.S. government or as a result of default or non-performance by the subsidiary performing the contract. In either event, we are entitled to recover the remaining amount of our capital investment pursuant to the terms of a termination settlement with the U.S. government at the time of termination as provided in each of the contracts. The contract price for each of these contracts is subject to redetermination two years after commencement of operations and every three years thereafter. Price redetermination is a contract mechanism to periodically adjust the service fee in the next period to reflect changes in contract obligations and anticipated market conditions.

In general, the Contract Operations Group is engaged in providing these services to systems with over 3,000 customers (and in many cases far larger) as distinguished from the O&M services provided by our Applied Water Management Group usually to systems with less than 3,000 customers. However, there is some overlap in size of systems served due to geographic and operational considerations.

We combined all Contract Operations activities, including Applied Water Management Group’s 196 contracts and our newly acquired subsidiary, EMC, into one operating unit. EMC provides O&M services to 26 municipalities and 28 industrial customers. The Contract Operations Group will commence operating as a combined unit on January 1, 2010.

 

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Applied Water Management Group

Our Applied Water Management Group works with customers to design, build and operate smaller-scale water and wastewater treatment plants (typically serving up to 3,000 customers). Our typical customers are real estate developers, industrial companies and new or expanding communities. We specialize in providing reliable, advanced and eco-friendly water and wastewater solutions to suit each customer’s water needs. Our Applied Water Management Group generated revenue of $19.5 million in 2009, representing 7.6% of revenue for our Non-Regulated Businesses.

The Applied Water Management Group currently serves our customer base primarily in the Northeastern United States and was responsible for the design, construction and operation of advanced wastewater treatment recycling systems for sites as varied as residential buildings in Battery Park City in New York City and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

As stated above under “Contract Operations Group”, we aligned all our Contract Operations activities into a single operating group, effective January 1, 2010.

Homeowner Services Group

Our Homeowner Services Group provides services to domestic homeowners to protect against the cost of repairing broken or leaking pipes inside and outside their homes. We initially offered these services within territories covered by our regulated subsidiaries, but are expanding to enable other utilities outside our territories to offer the services to their customers. In the marketing of these services, we focus on educating homeowners about their service line ownership responsibility and providing convenient and cost effective solutions to internal and external water line and sewer line repairs. Our Homeowner Services Group generated revenue of $52.2 million in 2009, representing 20.3% of revenue for our Non-Regulated Businesses.

Our Service Line Protection Programs offer customers various service contracts for a monthly fee that cover repair of water line leaks and breaks, sewer line clogs and blockages and emergency in-home plumbing problems. In the event of a problem, customers contact our national call center and we dispatch local contractors to the customer’s home to undertake the necessary repairs.

Our Homeowners Services Group currently has approximately 750,000 customer contracts in 16 of the states where we operate our Regulated Businesses. We intend to expand our service offering to the remaining key states in which we operate our Regulated Businesses as well as other viable territories.

Building on the success of its Service Line Protection Programs, our Homeowner Services Group recently introduced LineSaver™, an exclusive program for municipalities and public water systems that is available across the country. The LineSaver™ program involves partnering with municipalities to offer our protection programs to homeowners serviced by the municipal system while providing an income opportunity to the municipality or public water system. We entered into our first LineSaver™ program partnership with the city of Trenton, New Jersey and are currently discussing partnerships with municipalities across the nation.

Other Non-Regulated Businesses

Our Non-Regulated Businesses also include (i) our Carbon Services Group, which provides granular activated carbon for water purification to our Regulated Businesses as well as certain outside customers and (ii) our Residuals Group, Terratec, which is located in Canada and provides environmentally sustainable management and disposal of biosolids and wastewater by-products. Our United States-based Residuals Group was divested effective June 29, 2007. These other Non-Regulated Businesses generated revenue of $29.9 million in 2009 in the aggregate, representing 11.6% of revenue for our Non-Regulated Businesses.

 

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Competition

We face competition in our Non-Regulated Businesses from a number of service providers, including Veolia Environnement, American States, OMI and Southwest Water, particularly in the area of O&M contracting. Securing new O&M contracts is highly competitive, as these contracts are awarded based on a combination of customer relationships, service levels, competitive pricing, references and technical expertise. We also face competition in maintaining existing O&M contracts to which we are a party, as these frequently come up for renegotiation and are subject to an open bidding process.

Growth

In the course of pursuing our growth strategy, we periodically acquire water and wastewater utilities by making acquisitions in our existing markets and certain markets in the United States where we do not currently operate our Regulated Businesses. We have executed a number of larger acquisitions in the past 15 years. These acquisitions totaling approximately $2.1 billion broadened our footprint in then existing states geographies.

We also acquire water and wastewater utilities through tuck-ins. The proximity of tuck-in opportunities to our regulated footprint allows us to integrate and manage the acquired systems and operations using our existing management and to achieve efficiencies. Historically, pursuing tuck-ins has been a fundamental part of our growth strategy. We intend to continue to expand our regulated footprint geographically by acquiring water and wastewater systems in our existing markets and, if appropriate, certain markets in the United States where we do not currently operate our Regulated Businesses.

The chart below sets forth our historical tuck-ins for 2006 through December 2009.

LOGO

During 2007, New Jersey American Water Company, Inc. (“NJAWC”) entered into an agreement with the City of Trenton, New Jersey (the “City”) to purchase the assets of the City’s outside water system located in four surrounding townships. The initial proposed purchase price of $100 million was subsequently amended to $75 million plus the provision of technical services by the City over seven years at a total cost to NJAWC of $5.0 million to ensure a smooth ownership transition. The amended agreement also requires NJAWC to purchase finished water from the City of Trenton for a period of 20 years after closing under a water supply agreement.

Since February 2009 a small group of City residents (“Petitioners”) has been involved in litigation with the City and NJAWC seeking to force the sale to a referendum. On December 19, 2009, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate panel published its decision unanimously upholding a March 2009 trial court decision in favor of the City and NJAWC. The New Jersey Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) has granted the Petitioners’ request for certification and oral argument is scheduled before the Supreme Court on March 22, 2010. The Company can provide no assurance as to the outcome of litigation. The acquisition is expected to add approximately 40,000 customers to NJAWC’s customer base.

 

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While our business mix will continue to focus predominantly on regulated activities, we are pursuing opportunities in Non-Regulated Businesses that are complementary to our Regulated Businesses and our capabilities. Our Non-Regulated focus centers around public/private partnerships, including municipalities and divisions of the United States Department of Defense as well as industrial customers. We will continue to capitalize on our O&M expertise and our existing municipal and federal government relationships while building on our newly acquired subsidiary’s (EMC) customer base in the industrial sector in identifying and bidding for new ventures that have attractive risk and return characteristics. We will also expand our Non-Regulated Homeowner Services business, which provides services to domestic homeowners to protect against the cost of repairing broken or leaking pipes inside and outside their homes, in areas within and beyond our existing regulated footprint and to small commercial establishments.

Research and Development

We established a formal research and development program in 1981 with the goal of improving water quality and operational effectiveness in all areas of our businesses. Our research and development personnel are located at two of our facilities: the regional center in Voorhees, New Jersey and our research laboratory in Delran, New Jersey. In addition, our quality control and testing laboratory in Belleville, Illinois supports research through sophisticated testing and analysis. Since its inception, our research and development program has evolved to become a leading water-related research program, achieving advancements in the science of drinking water, including sophisticated water testing procedures and desalination technologies.

Since the formation of the EPA in 1970, we have collaborated with the agency to achieve effective environmental, health and safety and water quality regulation. This relationship has developed to include sharing of our research and national water quality monitoring data in addition to our treatment and distribution system optimization research. Our engagement with the EPA has helped us to achieve a leadership position for our company within the water and wastewater industry and has provided us with early insight into emerging regulatory issues and initiatives; thereby allowing us to anticipate and to accommodate our future compliance requirements.

In 2009, we spent $2.75 million on research and development, which represents an increase of 10% over the $2.5 million spent in 2008. Approximately one-third of our research budget is comprised of competitively awarded outside research grants. Such grants reduce the cost of research and allow collaboration with leading national and international researchers.

We believe that continued research and development activities are critical to providing quality and reliable service at reasonable rates, maintaining our leadership position in the industry and will provide us with a competitive advantage as we seek additional business with new and existing customers.

Support Services

Our American Water Works Service Company subsidiary provides centrally administered professional services to our Regulated Businesses under the terms of contracts with these companies that have been approved by state PUCs, where necessary. These services, which are provided at cost, may include accounting, administration, business development, communications, corporate secretarial, engineering, financial, health and safety, human resources, information systems, legal, operations, procurement, rates, security, risk management, water quality and research and development. Similar services may be provided to our Non-Regulated Businesses. These arrangements afford our affiliated companies professional and technical talent on an economical and timely basis.

We operate two national customer service centers, with personnel located in Alton, Illinois and Pensacola, Florida. These centers employ approximately 700 people in total.

 

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Employee Matters

Currently, we employ approximately 7,700 full-time employees. Of these, approximately 3,900 or 51% are represented by unions. We have 84 collective bargaining agreements in place with the 18 different unions representing our unionized employees. Approximately one-fourth of our local union contracts expire annually. We maintain good relations with our unionized workforce and have no significant history of strikes or labor stoppages.

Security

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and other risks, we have heightened security at our facilities over the past several years and have taken added precautions to protect our employees and the water delivered to our customers. We have a security programs department that provides oversight and governance of physical and information security throughout our operations and is responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring and supporting active and effective physical and information security controls.

In 2002, federal legislation was enacted that resulted in new regulations concerning security of water facilities, including those that required companies to submit vulnerability assessment studies to the federal government. We have complied with EPA regulations concerning vulnerability assessments and have made filings to the EPA as required. Vulnerability assessments are conducted regularly to evaluate the effectiveness of existing security controls and serve as the basis for further capital investment in security for the facility. Information security controls are deployed or integrated to prevent unauthorized access to company information systems, assure the continuity of business processes dependent upon automation, ensure the integrity of our data and support regulatory and legislative compliance requirements. In addition, communication plans have been developed as a component of our procedures. While we do not make public comments on the details of our security programs, we have been in contact with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to coordinate and improve the security of our water delivery systems and to safeguard our water supply.

Available Information

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We file or furnish annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). You may obtain a copy of any of these reports, free of charge, from the Investor Relations section of our website, http://www.amwater.com shortly after we file or furnish the information to the SEC. Information contained on our website shall not be deemed incorporated into, or to be a part of, this Report.

You may also obtain a copy of any of these reports directly from the SEC. You may read and copy any material we file or furnish with the SEC at their Public Reference Room, located at 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The phone number for information about the operation of the Public Reference Room is 1-800-732-0330 (if you are calling from within the United States), or 202-551-8090. Because we electronically file our reports, you may also obtain this information from the SEC internet website at http://www.sec.gov. You can obtain additional contact information for the SEC on their website.

The American Water corporate governance guidelines and the charters for each of the standing committees of the board of directors together with the American Water Code of Ethics and additional information regarding our corporate governance, are available on our website http://www.amwater.com and will be made available, without charge, in print to any shareholder who requests such documents from Investor Relations Department, American Water Works Company, Inc., 1025 Laurel Oak Road, Voorhees, NJ, 08043.

 

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

We operate in a market and regulatory environment that involves significant risks, many of which are beyond our control. In addition to the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, the following factors should be considered in evaluating our business and future prospects. Any of the following risks, either alone or taken together, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial position or results of operations, which in turn could adversely affect the value of our common stock.

Risks Related to Our Industry and Business

Our utility operations are subject to extensive economic regulation. Decisions by state PUCs and other regulatory agencies can significantly affect our business and results of operations.

Our Regulated Businesses provide water and wastewater services to our customers through subsidiaries that are economically regulated by state PUCs. Economic regulation affects the rates we charge our customers and has a significant effect on our business and results of operations. Generally, the state PUCs authorize us to charge rates, that they determine are sufficient to recover our prudently incurred operating expenses, to enable us to finance the addition of new, or the replacement of existing, water and wastewater infrastructure and to allow us the opportunity to earn what they determine to be an appropriate rate of return on our invested capital and a return of our invested capital.

Our ability to meet our financial objectives depends upon the rates authorized by the various state PUCs. We periodically file rate increase applications with state PUCs. The ensuing administrative process may be lengthy and costly. We can provide no assurances that our rate increase requests will be granted. Even if approved, there is no guarantee that approval will be given in a timely manner or at a sufficient level to cover our expenses, the recovery of our investment and/or provide us an opportunity to earn an appropriate rate of return on our investment and a return of our investment. If the authorized rates are insufficient to cover operating expenses, to allow for the recovery of our investment and to provide an appropriate return on invested capital, or if the rate increase decisions are delayed, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity may be adversely affected. Even if rates are sufficient, we face the risk that we will not achieve the rates of return on our invested capital and/or a return of our invested capital that are permitted by state PUCs as billings to customers are based on usage rather than a fixed amount.

Our operations and the quality of water we supply are subject to extensive environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with increasingly stringent laws and regulations could impact our operating costs; and violations of such laws and regulations could subject the company to substantial liabilities and costs.

Our water and wastewater operations are subject to extensive United States Federal, state and local, and in the case of our Canadian operations, Canadian, laws and regulations, that govern the protection of the environment, health and safety, the quality of the water we deliver to our customers, water allocation rights, and the manner in which we collect, treat, discharge and dispose of wastewater. These requirements include the United States Clean Water Act of 1972, which we refer to as the Clean Water Act, and the United States Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, which we refer to as the Safe Drinking Water Act, the amendments to and reauthorizations of the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Acts, and similar state and Canadian laws and regulations. We are also required to obtain various environmental permits from regulatory agencies for our operations. State PUCs also set conditions and standards for the water and wastewater services we deliver. If we deliver water or wastewater services to our customers that do not comply with regulatory standards, or otherwise violate environmental laws, regulations or permits, or other health and safety and water quality regulations, we could incur substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions or costs or damage to our reputation. In the most serious cases, regulators could force us to discontinue operations and sell our operating assets to another utility or municipality. Given the nature of our business which, in part, involves supplying water for human consumption, any potential non-compliance with, or violation of, environmental laws or regulations would likely pose a more significant risk to us than to an issuer not similarly involved in the water and wastewater industry.

 

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We incur substantial operating and capital costs on an ongoing basis to comply with environmental laws and regulations and other health and safety and water quality regulations. These laws and regulations, and their enforcement, have tended to become more stringent over time, and new or stricter requirements could increase our costs. Although we may seek to recover ongoing compliance costs in our rates, there can be no guarantee that the various state PUCs or similar regulatory bodies that govern our Regulated Businesses would approve rate increases to recover such costs or that such costs will not adversely and materially affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity.

We may also incur liabilities under environmental laws and regulations requiring us to investigate and clean up environmental contamination at our properties, including potential spills of hazardous chemicals, such as chlorine, which we use to treat water or at off-site locations where we have disposed of waste or caused adverse environmental impacts. The discovery of previously unknown conditions, or the imposition of cleanup obligations in the future, could result in significant costs, and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity. Such remediation costs may not be covered by our insurance policies and may make it difficult for us to secure insurance in the future at acceptable rates.

Changes in laws and regulations over which we have no control can significantly affect our business and results of operations.

Any governmental entity that regulates our operations may enact new legislation or adopt new regulations or policies at any time, and new judicial decisions may change the interpretation of existing legislation or regulations at any time. The individuals who serve as regulators are elected or are political appointees. Therefore, elections which result in a change of political administration or new appointments may also result in changes in the individuals who serve as regulators and the policies of the regulatory agencies that they serve. New laws or regulations, new interpretations of existing laws or regulations, or changes in agency policy, including those as a response to shifts in public opinion, or conditions imposed during the regulatory hearing process may affect our business in a number of ways, including the following:

 

   

making it more difficult for us to raise our rates and, as a consequence, to recover our costs or earn our expected rates of return;

 

   

changing the determination of the costs, or the amount of costs, that would be considered recoverable in rate cases;

 

   

changing water quality or delivery service standards or wastewater collection, treatment, discharge and disposal standards with which we must comply;

 

   

restricting our ability to terminate our services to customers who owe us money for services previously provided;

 

   

requiring us to provide water services at reduced rates to certain customers;

 

   

restricting our ability to sell assets or issue securities;

 

   

changing regulatory benefits that we expected to receive when we began offering services in a particular area;

 

   

changing or placing additional limitations on change in control requirements relating to any concentration of ownership of our common stock;

 

   

making it easier for governmental entities to convert our assets to public ownership via eminent domain;

 

   

restricting or prohibiting our extraction of water from rivers, streams, reservoirs or aquifers; and

 

   

revoking or altering the terms of the certificates of public convenience and necessity (or similar authorizations) issued to us by state PUCs.

 

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Any of these changes or any other changes in laws, regulations, judicial decisions, or agency policies applicable to us may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity.

Availability of water supplies, restrictions on use, natural hazards, weather conditions and competing uses may interfere with our sources of water, demand for water services and our ability to supply water to customers.

Our ability to meet the existing and future water demands of our customers depends on an adequate supply of water. As a general rule, sources of public water supply, including rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater aquifers are held in the public trust and are not owned by private interests. As such, we typically do not own the water that we use in our operations, and the availability of our water supply is established through allocation rights and passing-flow requirements set by governmental entities. Passing-flow requirements set minimum volumes of water that must pass through specified water sources, such as rivers and streams, in order to maintain environmental habitats and meet water allocation rights of downstream users. Allocation rights are imposed to ensure sustainability of major water sources and passing flow requirements are most often imposed on source waters from smaller rivers, lakes and streams. These requirements can change from time to time and adversely impact our water supply. Drought, overuse of sources of water, the protection of threatened species or habitats, or other factors may limit the availability of ground and surface water.

Governmental restrictions on water use may also result in decreased use of water services, even if our water supplies are sufficient to serve our customers, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Seasonal drought conditions that would impact our water services are possible across all of our service areas. If a regional drought were to occur affecting our service areas and adjacent systems, governmental restrictions may be imposed on all systems within a region independent of the supply adequacy of any individual system. There were voluntary conservation efforts or water use restrictions implemented during certain periods of 2009 in parts of Indiana, New York and California. Following drought conditions, water demand may not return to pre-drought levels even after restrictions are lifted.

Service interruptions due to severe weather events are possible across all our service areas. These include winter storms and freezing conditions in our colder climate service areas, high wind conditions in our service areas known to experience tornados, earthquakes in our service areas known to experience seismic activity, high water conditions for our facilities located in or near designated flood plains, hurricanes in our coastal service areas and severe electrical storms which are possible across all of our service areas. These weather events may affect the condition or operability of our facilities, limiting or preventing us from delivering water or wastewater services to our customers, or requiring us to make substantial capital expenditures to repair any damage. Any interruption in our ability to supply water or to collect, treat and properly dispose of wastewater, or any costs associated with restoring service, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, losses from business interruptions or damage to our facilities might not be covered by our insurance policies and such losses may make it difficult for us to secure insurance in the future at acceptable rates.

Our business is impacted significantly by weather conditions, which are subject to fluctuations. These fluctuations could adversely affect demand for our water service and our revenues.

Demand for our water during the warmer months is generally greater than during cooler months due primarily to additional requirements for water in connection with irrigation systems, swimming pools, cooling systems and other outside water use. Throughout the year, and particularly during typically warmer months, demand tends to vary with temperature, rainfall levels and rainfall frequency. In the event that temperatures during the typically warmer months are cooler than normal, if there is more rainfall than normal, and/or rainfall is more frequent than normal, the demand for our water may decrease and adversely affect our revenues.

 

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Declining residential per customer water usage may reduce our long-term revenues, financial condition and results of operations.

Increased water conservation, including through the use of more efficient household fixtures and appliances among residential consumers, combined with declining household sizes in the United States, has contributed to a trend of declining residential per customer water usage. Our Regulated Businesses are heavily dependent upon revenue generated from rates we charge to our residential customers for the volume of water they use. The rate we charge for our water is regulated by state PUCs, and we may not unilaterally adjust our rates to reflect demand. Declining usage will have a negative impact on our long-term operating revenues if we are unable to secure rate increases or to grow our residential customer base to the extent necessary to offset the residential usage decline.

Regulatory and environmental risks associated with the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater may impose significant costs.

The wastewater collection, treatment and disposal operations of our subsidiaries are subject to substantial regulation and involve significant environmental risks. If collection or sewage systems fail, overflow, or do not operate properly, untreated wastewater or other contaminants could spill onto nearby properties or into nearby streams and rivers, causing damage to persons or property, injury to aquatic life and economic damages, which may not be recoverable in rates. This risk is most acute during periods of substantial rainfall or flooding, which are the main causes of sewer overflow and system failure. Liabilities resulting from such damage could adversely and materially affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, in the event that we are deemed liable for any damage caused by overflow, our losses might not be covered by insurance policies, and such losses may make it difficult for us to secure insurance in the future at acceptable rates.

Our Regulated Businesses require significant capital expenditures to maintain infrastructure and expand our rate base and may suffer if we fail to secure appropriate funding to make investments, or if we suffer delays in completing major capital expenditure projects.

The water and wastewater utility business is very capital intensive. In addition to our acquisition strategy, we invest significant amounts of capital to add, replace and maintain property, plant and equipment. In 2009, we invested $785.3 million in net Company-funded capital improvements. We expect the level of capital expenditures necessary to maintain the integrity of our systems to increase in the future. We fund these projects from cash generated from operations, borrowings under our revolving credit facility and commercial paper programs and through the issuance of long-term debt and equity securities. We can provide no assurances that we will be able to access the debt and equity capital markets on favorable terms or at all.

In addition, we believe that our dividend policy could limit, but not preclude, our ability to pursue growth. In particular, this limitation could be significant, for example, with respect to large acquisitions and growth opportunities that require cash investments in amounts greater than our available cash or external financing resources. In order to fund construction expenditures, acquisitions (including tuck-in acquisitions), principal and interest payments on our indebtedness, and pay dividends at the level currently anticipated under our dividend policy, we expect that we will need additional financing. However, we intend to retain sufficient cash from operating activities after the distribution of dividends to fund a portion of our capital expenditures.

If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital, we may fail to maintain our existing property, plant and equipment, realize our capital investment strategies, meet our growth targets and successfully expand the rate base upon which we are able to earn future returns on our investment and a return of our investment. Even if we have adequate resources to make required capital expenditures, we face the additional risk that we will not complete our major capital expenditures on time, as a result of construction delays or other obstacles. Each of these outcomes could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. We also face the risk that after we make substantial capital expenditures, the rate increases granted to us by state PUCs may not be

 

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sufficient to recover our prudently incurred operating expenses and to allow us the opportunity to earn an appropriate rate of return on our invested capital and a return of our invested capital.

The failure of, or the requirement to repair, upgrade or dismantle, any of our dams may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We own approximately 100 dams. A failure of any of those dams could result in injuries and downstream property damage downstream for which we may be liable. The failure of a dam would also adversely affect our ability to supply water in sufficient quantities to our customers and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Any losses or liabilities incurred due to a failure of one of our dams might not be covered by insurance policies or be recoverable in rates, and such losses may make it difficult for us to secure insurance in the future at acceptable rates.

We also are required from time to time to repair or upgrade the dams that we own. The cost of such repairs can be and has been material. We might not be able to recover such costs through rates. The inability to recover these higher costs or regulatory lag in the recovery of such costs can affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity. The federal and state agencies that regulate our operations may adopt rules and regulations requiring us to dismantle our dams. Federal and state agencies are currently considering rules and regulations that could require us to strengthen or dismantle one of our dams on the Carmel River in California due to safety concerns related to seismic activity. Any requirement to strengthen or dismantle this dam could result in substantial costs that may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. We are currently engaged in negotiations with federal and state agencies and local stakeholders on a plan to maintain our existing Carmel River dams or to share the costs of dismantling one of them with those federal and state agencies and local stakeholders. These negotiations could be delayed or abandoned.

Any failure of our network of water and wastewater pipes and water reservoirs could result in losses and damages that may affect our financial condition and reputation.

Our operating subsidiaries distribute water and collect wastewater through an extensive network of pipes and store water in reservoirs located across the United States. A failure of major pipes or reservoirs could result in injuries and property damage for which we may be liable. The failure of major pipes and reservoirs may also result in the need to shut down some facilities or parts of our network in order to conduct repairs. Such failures and shutdowns may limit our ability to supply water in sufficient quantities to our customers and to meet the water and wastewater delivery requirements prescribed by governmental regulators, including state PUCs with jurisdiction over our operations, and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, liquidity and reputation. Any business interruption or other losses might not be covered by insurance policies or be recoverable in rates, and such losses may make it difficult for us to secure insurance in the future at acceptable rates.

Contamination of our sources of water could result in service interruptions and human exposure to hazardous substances and subject our subsidiaries to civil or criminal enforcement actions, private litigation and cleanup obligations.

Our water supplies are subject to contamination, including contamination from naturally-occurring compounds, chemicals in groundwater systems, pollution resulting from man-made sources, such as perchlorate and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and possible terrorist attacks. In the event that our water supply is contaminated, we may have to interrupt the use of that water supply until we are able to substitute the supply of water from another water source, including, in some cases, through the purchase of water from a third-party supplier. In addition, we may incur significant costs in order to treat the contaminated source through expansion of our current treatment facilities, or development of new treatment methods. If we are unable to substitute water supply in a cost-effective manner, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, liquidity and reputation may be adversely affected. We might not be able to recover costs associated with treating or

 

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decontaminating water supplies through rates, or such recovery may not occur in a timely manner. Moreover, we could be held liable for environmental damage as well as damages arising from toxic tort or other lawsuits or criminal enforcement actions, or other consequences arising out of human exposure to hazardous substances in our drinking water supplies.

Our liquidity and earnings could be adversely affected by increases in our production costs, including the cost of chemicals, electricity, fuel or other significant materials used in the water and wastewater treatment process.

We incur significant production costs in connection with the delivery of our water and wastewater services. Our production costs are driven by purchased water, chemicals used to treat water and wastewater as well as electricity and fuel, which are used to operate pumps and other equipment used in water treatment and delivery and wastewater collection, treatment and disposal. We also incur production costs for waste disposal. For 2009, production costs accounted for 22.9% of our total operations and maintenance costs. These costs can and do increase, sometimes unexpectedly and in substantial amounts, as occurred in Illinois during 2007, when the cost of electricity rose substantially.

Our Regulated Businesses might not be able to recover increases in the costs of chemicals, electricity, fuel, other significant inputs or waste disposal through rates, or such recovery may not occur in a timely manner. Our Non-Regulated Businesses may not be able to recover these costs in contract prices or other terms. The inability to recover these higher costs can affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity.

Our reliance on third-party suppliers poses significant risks to our business and prospects.

We contract with third parties for goods and services that are essential to our operations, such as maintenance services, pipes, chemicals, electricity, water, gasoline, diesel and other materials. We are subject to substantial risks because of our reliance on these suppliers. For example:

 

   

our suppliers may not provide raw materials that meet our specifications in sufficient quantities;

 

   

our suppliers may provide us with water that does not meet applicable quality standards or is contaminated;

 

   

our suppliers may face production delays due to natural disasters, strikes, lock-outs, or other such actions;

 

   

one or more suppliers could make strategic changes in the lines of products and services they offer; and

 

   

some of our suppliers, such as small companies, may be more likely to experience financial and operational difficulties than larger, well-established companies, because of their limited financial and other resources.

As a result of any of these factors, we may be required to find alternative suppliers for the raw materials and services on which we rely. Accordingly, we may experience delays in obtaining appropriate raw materials and services on a timely basis and in sufficient quantities from such alternative suppliers at a reasonable price, which could interrupt services to our customers and adversely affect our revenues, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity.

Risks associated with potential acquisitions or investments may adversely affect us.

We will continue to seek to acquire or invest in additional regulated water or wastewater systems, including acquiring systems in markets in the United States where we do not currently operate our Regulated Businesses and through tuck-ins. We will also continue to seek to enter into public/private partnerships, including O&M,

 

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military, and design, build and operate (which we refer to as DBO) contracts and services that complement our businesses. These transactions may result in:

 

   

incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities;

 

   

dilutive issuances of our equity securities;

 

   

failure to have or to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting;

 

   

fluctuations in quarterly results;

 

   

exposure to unknown risks and liabilities, such as environmental liabilities; and

 

   

other acquisition-related expenses.

We may also experience difficulty in obtaining required regulatory approvals for acquisitions, and any regulatory approvals we obtain may require us to agree to costly and restrictive conditions imposed by regulators. We may not identify all significant risks when conducting due diligence for a transaction, and we could be exposed to potential liabilities for which we will not be indemnified. There may be difficulties integrating new businesses, including bringing newly acquired businesses up to the necessary level of regulatory compliance, retaining and integrating key personnel, achieving strategic objectives and integrating acquired assets and technological systems. The demands of identifying and transitioning newly acquired businesses or pursuing investment opportunities may also divert management’s attention from other business concerns and otherwise disrupt our business. Any of these risks may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The global economic and financial market environment may adversely affect our business and operations.

The existing and continuing global economic and financial market environment has caused, among other things, a general tightening in the credit markets, lower levels of liquidity, increases in the rates of default and bankruptcy, lower consumer and business spending, and lower consumer net worth, all of which could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Our customers and suppliers may or will be severely affected by the current economic turmoil. Current or potential customers and suppliers may no longer be in business, may be unable to continue to pay for our services or may decide to reduce their consumption of our services, all of which could lead to reduced demand for our services, reduced operating income, an increased incidence of customer payment delays, or defaults for services delivered. Further, suppliers may not be able to supply us in a timely manner, may increase prices, or go out of business, which could result in our inability to meet consumer demand. As such, a continuing negative global economic and financial market environment could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Capital markets have experienced a significant period of dislocation and instability, which could affect our ability to meet our liquidity needs at reasonable cost and our ability to meet long-term commitments, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on our revolving credit facility and the capital markets to satisfy our liquidity needs. Disruptions in the credit markets, changes in our credit ratings, or deterioration of the banking industry’s financial condition could discourage or prevent lenders from meeting their existing lending commitments, extending the terms of such commitments or agreeing to new commitments. Market disruptions may also limit our ability to issue debt securities in the capital markets. In order to meet our short-term liquidity needs we borrowed under our existing $840 million revolving credit facility. Commitments under this revolving credit facility of $685 million mature on September 15, 2013, and the remaining $155 million of commitments expire on September 15, 2012. American Water Capital Corp. (“AWCC”), our financing subsidiary, had no outstanding borrowings and $48.2 million of outstanding letters of credit under this credit facility as of February 24, 2010. AWCC had $58.9 million of outstanding commercial paper as of February 24, 2010. We can provide no assurances that our lenders will meet their existing commitments or that we will be able to access the commercial paper or loan markets in the future on terms acceptable to us or at all.

 

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Longer term disruptions in the capital and credit markets as a result of uncertainty, reduced financing alternatives, or failures of significant financial institutions could adversely affect our access to the liquidity needed for our business. Any disruption could require us to take measures to conserve cash until the market stabilizes or until alternative financing can be arranged. Such measures could include deferring capital expenditures, reducing or suspending dividend payments, and reducing other discretionary expenditures.

The resulting lack of available credit and increased volatility in the financial markets or changes to our credit ratings could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to manage our liquidity. In particular, as a result of higher interest rates on publicly issued debt securities, increased commercial paper borrowing costs, and increased costs related to variable rate debt, the Company’s interest expense could increase and adversely impact our results of operations.

The capital market disruptions could result in higher interest rates on publicly issued debt securities and increased commercial paper borrowing costs. As a result, continuation of the market disruptions could increase the Company’s interest expense and adversely impact our results of operations.

Market conditions may unfavorably impact the value of benefit plan assets and liabilities which then could require significant additional funding.

The performance of the capital markets affects the values of the assets that are held in trust to satisfy future obligations under the Company’s pension and postretirement benefit plans and could significantly impact our results of operations and financial position. The Company has significant obligations in these areas and the Company holds significant assets in these trusts. These assets are subject to market fluctuations, which may affect investment returns, that may fall below the Company’s projected return rates. A decline in the market value of the pension and postretirement benefit plan assets, as was experienced in 2009, will increase the funding requirements under the Company’s pension and postretirement benefit plans if the actual asset returns do not recover these declines in value. Additionally, the Company’s pension and postretirement benefit plan liabilities are sensitive to changes in interest rates. As interest rates decrease, the liabilities increase, potentially increasing benefit expense and funding requirements. Further, changes in demographics, including increased numbers of retirements or increases in life expectancy assumptions may also increase the funding requirements of the obligations related to the pension and other postretirement benefit plans. Also, future increases in pension and other postretirement costs as a result of reduced plan assets may not be fully recoverable in rates, and our the results of operations and financial position of the Company could be negatively affected.

We have recorded a significant amount of goodwill, and we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets, causing us to record impairments that may negatively affect our results of operations or require us to effect additional dilutive equity issuances.

Our total assets include substantial goodwill. At December 31, 2009, our goodwill totaled $1,250.4 million. The goodwill is primarily associated with the acquisition of American Water by an affiliate of RWE in 2003 and the acquisition of E’Town Corporation in 2001. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price the purchaser paid over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is recorded at fair value on the date of an acquisition and is reviewed annually or more frequently if changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Annual impairment reviews are performed at November 30 of each year and interim reviews are performed when management determines that a triggering event has occurred. We have been required to reflect, as required by the applicable accounting rules, non-cash charges to operating results for goodwill impairment in the amounts of $450.0 million, $750.0 million, $509.3 million and $227.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. These amounts include impairments relating to discontinued operations. As a result of these impairments, net income was reduced by $443.0 million, $738.5 million, $501.5 million and $223.6 million in 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

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The Company may be required to recognize an impairment of goodwill in the future due to market conditions or other factors related to the Company’s performance. These market events could include a decline over a period of time of the Company’s stock price, a decline over a period of time in valuation multiples of comparable water utilities, the lack of an increase in the Company’s market price consistent with its peer companies or decreases in control premiums. A decline in the forecasted results in our business plan, such as changes in rate case results or capital investment budgets or changes in our interest rates, could also result in an impairment charge. Recognition of impairments of a significant portion of goodwill would negatively affect the Company’s reported results of operations and total capitalization, the effect of which could be material and could make it more difficult to maintain its credit ratings, secure financing on attractive terms, maintain compliance with debt covenants and meet expectations of our regulators.

Our Regulated Businesses compete with governmental entities, other regulated utilities, as well as strategic and financial buyers, for acquisition opportunities, which may hinder our ability to grow our business.

We compete with governmental entities, other regulated utilities, as well as strategic and financial buyers, for acquisition opportunities, including tuck-ins. Our competitors may impede our growth by purchasing water utilities near our existing operations, thereby preventing us from acquiring them. Competing governmental entities, utilities and strategic and financial buyers have challenged, and may in the future challenge, our applications for new service territories. Our growth could be hindered if we are not able to compete effectively for new territories with other companies or strategic and financial buyers that have lower costs of operations or that can submit more attractive bids.

The assets of our Regulated Businesses are subject to condemnation through eminent domain.

Municipalities and other government subdivisions have historically been involved in the provision of water and wastewater services in the United States, and organized movements may arise from time to time in one or more of the service areas in which our Regulated Businesses operate to convert our assets to public ownership and operation through the governmental power of eminent domain. Should a municipality or other government subdivision seek to acquire our assets through eminent domain, we may resist the acquisition. Contesting an exercise of condemnation through eminent domain may result in costly legal proceedings and may divert the attention of the affected Regulated Business’s management from the operation of its business.

On September 5, 2008, under threat of condemnation, California American Water sold the assets of our Felton, California water system, which served approximately 1,330 customers, to the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. If a municipality or other government subdivision succeeds in acquiring the assets of one or more of our Regulated Businesses through eminent domain, there is a risk that we will not receive adequate compensation for the business, that we will not be able to keep the compensation, or that we will not be able to divest the business without incurring significant one-time charges.

Our Non-Regulated Businesses, through American Water (excluding our regulated subsidiaries), provide performance guarantees and other forms of financial security to our public-sector clients that could be claimed by our clients or potential clients if we do not meet certain obligations.

Under the terms of some of our indebtedness and some of our agreements for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities with municipalities, other governmental entities and other customers, American Water (excluding its regulated subsidiaries) provides guarantees of the performance of our Non-Regulated Businesses, including financial guarantees or deposits, to ensure performance of certain obligations. At December 31, 2009, we had remaining performance commitments as measured by remaining contract revenue totaling approximately $3,402.0 million, and this amount is likely to increase if our Non-Regulated Businesses grow. The presence of these commitments may adversely affect our financial condition and make it more difficult for us to secure financing on attractive terms. In addition, if the obligor on the instrument fails to perform certain obligations to the satisfaction of the party that holds the performance commitments that party

 

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may seek to enforce the performance commitments against us or proceed against the deposit. In that event, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity could be adversely affected.

We operate a number of water and wastewater systems under O&M contracts and face the risk that the owners of those systems may fail to maintain those systems, which will negatively affect us as the operators of the systems.

We operate a number of water and wastewater systems under O&M contracts. Pursuant to these contracts, we operate the system according to the standards set forth in the applicable contract, and it is generally the responsibility of the owner to undertake capital improvements. In some cases, we may not be able to convince the owner to make needed improvements in order to maintain compliance with applicable regulations. Although violations and fines incurred by water and wastewater systems may be the responsibility of the owner of the system under these contracts, those non-compliance events may reflect poorly on us as the operator of the system and damage our reputation, and in some cases, may result in liability to the same extent as if we were the owner.

Our Non-Regulated Businesses are party to long-term contracts to operate and maintain water and wastewater systems under which we may incur costs in excess of payments received.

Some of our Non-Regulated Businesses enter into long-term contracts pursuant to which they agree to operate and maintain a municipality’s, Federal government’s or other party’s water or wastewater treatment and delivery facilities, which includes responsibility for certain major maintenance for some of those facilities, in exchange for an annual fee. Our Non-Regulated Businesses are generally subject to the risk that costs associated with operating and maintaining the facilities may exceed the fees received from the municipality or other contracting party. In addition, directly or through our non-regulated subsidiaries, we often guarantee our Non-Regulated Businesses’ obligations under those contracts. Losses under these contracts or guarantees may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity.

We rely on our IT systems to assist with the management of our business and customer and supplier relationships, and a disruption of these systems could adversely affect our business.

Our IT systems are an integral part of our business, and a serious disruption of our IT systems could significantly limit our ability to manage and operate our business efficiently, which in turn, could cause our business and competitive position to suffer and cause our results of operations to be reduced. We depend on our IT systems to bill customers, process orders, provide customer service, manage construction projects, manage our financial records, track assets, remotely monitor certain of our plants and facilities and manage human resources, inventory and accounts receivable collections. Our IT systems also allow us to purchase products from our suppliers and bill customers on a timely basis, maintain cost-effective operations and provide service to our customers. Our IT systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from:

 

   

power loss, computer systems failures, and internet, telecommunications or data network failures;

 

   

operator negligence or improper operation by, or supervision of, employees;

 

   

physical and electronic loss of customer data or security breaches, misappropriation and similar events;

 

   

computer viruses;

 

   

intentional acts of vandalism and similar events; and

 

   

hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Such damages or interruptions may result in physical and electronic loss of customer or financial data, security breaches, misappropriation and similar events. In addition, the lack of redundancy for certain of our IT systems, including billing systems, could exacerbate the impact on the Company of any of the foregoing events.

 

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In addition, we may not be successful in developing or acquiring technology that is competitive and responsive to the needs of our business, and we might lack sufficient resources to make the necessary upgrades or replacements of our outdated existing technology to allow us to continue to operate at our current level of efficiency.

Our business transformation initiative involves risks, could result in higher than expected costs or otherwise adversely impact our operations and profitability.

We have undertaken a business transformation project, that is intended to upgrade our antiquated and manual processes and systems, in order to build efficiencies and provide more cost effective service to our customers. This multi-year, enterprise-wide initiative is intended to further support our broader strategic initiatives. The project is intended to optimize workflow throughout our field operations, improve our back-office operations and enhance our customer service capabilities. The scale and anticipated future costs associated with the business transformation project are significant and we could incur significant costs in excess of what we are planning to spend. Any technical or other difficulties in developing or implementing this initiative may result in delays, which in turn, may increase the costs of the project. When we make adjustments to our operations, we may incur incremental expenses prior to realizing the benefits of a more efficient workforce and operating structure. Further, we may not realize the cost improvements and greater efficiencies we hope for as a result of the project. In addition, we can provide no guarantee that we will be able to achieve timely or adequate rate recovery of these increased costs associated with the transformation project.

Currently, we operate numerous systems that have varying degrees of integration, which can lead to inefficiencies, workarounds and rework. As such, delays in the initiative being put into service will also delay cost savings and efficiencies expected to result from the project. We may also experience difficulties consolidating our current systems, moving to a common set of operational processes and implementing a successful change management process. These difficulties may impact our customers and our ability to meet their needs efficiently. Any such delays or difficulties may have a material and adverse impact on our business, client relationships and financial results.

Our indebtedness could affect our business adversely and limit our ability to plan for or respond to changes in our business, and we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our liquidity needs.

As of December 31, 2009, our indebtedness (including preferred stock with mandatory redemption requirements) was $5,485.7 million, and our working capital (defined as current assets less current liabilities) was in a deficit position. Our indebtedness could have important consequences, including:

 

   

limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital or capital expenditures;

 

   

exposing us to interest rate risk with respect to the portion of our indebtedness that bears interest at a variable rate;

 

   

limiting our ability to pay dividends on our common stock or make payments in connection with our other obligations;

 

   

likely requiring that a portion of our cash flow from operations be dedicated to the payment of the principal of and interest on our debt, thereby reducing funds available for future operations, acquisitions, dividends on our common stock or capital expenditures;

 

   

limiting our ability to take advantage of significant business opportunities, such as acquisition opportunities, and to react to changes in market or industry conditions; and

 

   

placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to those of our competitors that have less debt.

In order to meet our capital expenditure needs, we may be required to make additional borrowings under our credit facilities or be required to issue new debt securities in the capital markets. We can provide no assurances

 

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that we will be able to access the debt capital markets or do so on favorable terms. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks we now face could intensify, limiting our ability to refinance existing debt on favorable terms.

We will depend primarily on operations to fund our expenses and to pay the principal and interest on our outstanding debt. Our ability to meet our expenses thus depends on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. If we do not have sufficient cash flow to pay the principal and interest on our outstanding debt, we may be required to refinance all or part of our existing debt, sell assets, borrow additional funds or sell additional equity. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, or if we are unable to incur indebtedness sufficient to enable us to fund our liquidity needs, we may be unable to plan for or respond to changes in our business that would prevent us from maintaining or increasing our business and cause our operating results and prospects to be affected adversely.

Our failure to comply with restrictive covenants under our credit facilities could trigger prepayment obligations.

Our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants under our credit facilities could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in us being required to repay or refinance (on less favorable terms) these borrowings before their due date. If we are forced to repay or refinance (on less favorable terms) these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by increased costs and rates. In 2007, we were not in compliance with reporting covenants contained in some of the debt agreements of our subsidiaries. Such defaults under the reporting covenants were caused by our delay in producing our 2006 quarterly and audited annual consolidated financial statements. We have obtained all necessary waivers under the agreements. We can provide no assurance that we will comply in the future with all our reporting covenants and will not face an event of default under our debt agreements, or that such default will be cured or waived.

Work stoppages and other labor relations matters could adversely affect our results of operations.

Currently, approximately 3,900 of our employees, or 51% of our total workforce, are unionized and represented by 18 different unions. Approximately one-fourth of our 84 union collective bargaining agreements expire annually, with 21 agreements covering 1,081 employees scheduled to expire before the end of 2010. We might not be able to renegotiate labor contracts on terms that are favorable to us and negotiations or dispute resolutions undertaken in connection with our labor contracts could be delayed or become subject to the risk of labor actions or work stoppages. Labor actions, work stoppages or the threat of work stoppages, and our failure to obtain favorable labor contract terms during renegotiations may all adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and liquidity.

Material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting existed during 2009. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately or on a timely basis. Any inability to report and file our financial results in an accurate and timely manner could harm our business and adversely impact the trading price of our common stock.

As a public company, we are required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other rules and regulations that govern public companies. In particular, we are required to certify our compliance with

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the year ended December 31, 2009, which requires us to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management and our registered public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. However, from 2003 until the completion of our initial public

 

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offering in April 2008, as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of RWE, we were not required to maintain a system of effective internal controls or comply with the requirements of the SEC and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, nor to prepare our own consolidated financial statements. In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2006, we and our independent registered public accountants identified six material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, each of which could have resulted in a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements. Since that time, we have addressed all areas of material weakness. As of December 31, 2009, we and our independent registered public accountants have tested the effectiveness of controls designated to address the weaknesses and, based on the results of these tests, no longer consider these control deficiencies to be material weaknesses. For further discussion, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Our Internal Control and Remediation Initiatives.” Moreover, we cannot provide assurance that we have identified all, or that we will not in the future have additional, material weaknesses, any of which may subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, and cause future delays in filing our financial statements and periodic reports with the SEC. Any such delays in the filing of our financial statements and periodic reports may result in a loss of public confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and sanctions could be imposed on us by the SEC. We believe that any such misstatements or delays could negatively impact our liquidity, access to capital markets, financial condition and the market value of our common stock or cause a downgrade in the credit ratings of American Water or AWCC.

 

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

 

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our properties consist of transmission and distribution mains and conduits, water and wastewater treatment plants, pumping wells, tanks, meters, supply lines, dams, reservoirs, buildings, vehicles, land, easements, software rights and other facilities and equipment used for the operation of our systems, including the collection, treatment, storage and distribution of water, and the collection and treatment of wastewater. Substantially all of our properties are owned by our subsidiaries, and a substantial portion of our property is subject to liens of our mortgage bonds. We lease our corporate offices, equipment and furniture, located in Voorhees, New Jersey from one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries. These properties are utilized by our directors, officers and staff in the conduct of the business.

Our regulated subsidiaries own, in the states in which they operate, transmission and distribution mains, pump stations, treatment plants, storage tanks, reservoirs and related facilities. A substantial acreage of land is owned by our Regulated Businesses, the greater part of which is located in watershed areas, with the balance being principally sites of pumping and treatment plants, storage reservoirs, tanks and standpipes. Our Non-Regulated Businesses’ properties consist mainly of spreading and waste transportation equipment, office furniture and IT equipment and are primarily located in New Jersey and Canada. Approximately 50% of all our properties are located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

We maintain property insurance against loss or damage to our properties by fire or other perils, subject to certain exceptions. For insured losses, we are self-insured to the extent that any losses are within the policy deductible or exceed the amount of insurance maintained. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

We believe that our properties are generally maintained in good operating condition and in accordance with current standards of good water and wastewater works industry practice, and units of property are replaced as and when necessary.

 

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

In 2001, CAWC, entered into a conservation agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which we refer to as NOAA, requiring CAWC to implement certain measures to protect the steelhead trout and its habitat in the Carmel River watershed, study the removal of the San Clemente Dam and explore long-term water sources other than a new reservoir in the Carmel River. Since that time, CAWC has implemented a number of measures to reduce the impact of its operations on the steelhead trout and other species and has begun the environmental review and permitting process for construction of a water desalination plant, which is intended to provide an alternate water source for the Monterey Peninsula and, in part, to address some of the foregoing concerns relating to withdrawals from Carmel River. In early 2004, NOAA informed CAWC of its concern that CAWC’s ongoing operations would cause the “take” of significant numbers of steelhead trout during the several remaining years required to implement the Coastal Water Project. In June 2006, CAWC and NOAA entered a settlement agreement whereby CAWC agreed to fund certain additional projects to improve habitat conditions for and aid in the recovery of steelhead trout in the Carmel River watershed. Under the settlement agreement, CAWC is required, among other things, to make an initial payment of $3.5 million plus six annual installments of $1.1 million. The settlement agreement requires that all payments made by CAWC to NOAA be used for mitigation projects in the Carmel River watershed. NOAA has agreed not to assess any penalties or otherwise prosecute CAWC for any “take” of steelhead trout, so long as CAWC complies with the settlement agreement. Effective March 3, 2009, the Company and NOAA executed an amended settlement agreement to allow the required payments to be made to and managed by a California state agency under an existing mitigation program thereby ensuring that settlement payments will be used for mitigation projects in the Carmel River watershed. Consistent with the amended agreement, the Company paid an initial $3.5 million in April 2009 and is scheduled to make the first $1.1 million installment payment in July 2010. The settlement agreement also requires the Company and NOAA to meet and negotiate a resolution to NOAA’s concerns regarding changes to the Company’s operations on the Carmel River to protect the fish and improve its habitat. The Company and NOAA are currently engaged in this second phase of negotiations. On March 14, 2008, the Sierra Club and the Carmel River Steelhead Association notified CAWC of their intent to file a citizen suit, 60 days therefrom, for violations of the federal Endangered Species Act alleging the “take” of steelhead trout by CAWC along the Carmel River and seeking injunctive relief to reduce river water diversions and increase river flow and fish passage facilities. On June 25, 2009, the Sierra Club and the Carmel River Steelhead Association filed suit seeking to enjoin the Company’s pumping on the Carmel River. The suit was dismissed on the Company’s motion on January 8, 2010. The Sierra Club and the Carmel River Steelhead Association also filed an administrative complaint with the California State Water Resources Control Board in December 2008 claiming that certain fish passage facilities do not meet existing permit requirements. CAWC also undertakes activities to protect the threatened California red-legged frog and its habitat in the Carmel River pursuant to a prior agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”). This agreement is currently expired, and CAWC is in discussions with USFWS to renew the agreement.

In addition, the State Water Resources Control Board held administrative hearings in the summer of 2008 to address claims that CAWC has exceeded its water diversion rights in the Carmel River and has not diligently pursued establishing an alternative water supply as required by an administrative order issued to CAWC by the State Water Resources Control Board in 1995. The State Water Resources Control Board adopted a Cease and Desist Order to CAWC on October 20, 2009. The Order finds that CAWC has not sufficiently implemented actions to terminate its unpermitted diversions from the Carmel River as required by an administrative order issued to CAWC by the State Water Resources Control Board in 1995. The Order requires, among other things, that CAWC significantly decrease its yearly diversions from the river according to a set reduction schedule running from the date the Order was adopted until December 31, 2016, at which point all unpermitted diversions must end. The Order also requires that CAWC plan, design and implement, within twenty-four months of the date the Order was adopted, projects designed to reduce the need for Carmel River diversions. We have appealed the Order to the Superior Court of California challenging the findings and requirements of the Order. We cannot assure you, however, that the appeal will be successful or that, if unsuccessful, we will be able to comply with the requirements under the Order or that any such compliance will not result in material additional costs or obligations to us.

 

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In February 2004, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which we refer to as NJDEP, issued to NJAWC, a notice of violation alleging that NJAWC had exceeded annual diversion limits contained in NJAW’s water allocation permits for certain wells in our Lakewood system during the years 2001 through 2003. NJDEP initially assessed a penalty of $0.6 million. NJAWC subsequently submitted a voluntary statewide Self Disclosure Report identifying all such exceedances for the period of 1999 through 2003. In December 2007, NJAWC finalized an administrative consent order with NJDEP to resolve the above violations under which NJAWC has paid a civil fine of $0.1 million and has undertaken a $0.4 million environmental project. The project report is the lone aspect of the project remaining and we currently expect that aspect to be completed before the end of 2010. We believe that NJAWC is operating in compliance with the applicable diversion limits in its water allocation permits.

Terratec, our Canadian subsidiary, is subject to and has been complying with an Order by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, which we refer to as MOE, issued on October 31, 2006 requiring it to take steps to thicken certain biosolids that had been more susceptible to spillage during transport. MOE conducted an investigation and laid charges against Terratec relating to four such transport spillage incidents involving Terratec that occurred prior to the issuance of the Order. In December 2008, Terratec and the MOE agreed that Terratec would pay a fine of Cdn $300,000 plus a 25% surcharge to resolve these charges. The fine has been paid and this matter is now complete.

Periodically, we are involved in other proceedings or litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will materially affect our financial position or results of operations.

 

ITEM 4. (RESERVED)

 

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PART II

 

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Prior to April 23, 2008, there was no established public trading market for our common stock. Since April 23, 2008, our common stock has traded on the NYSE under the symbol “AWK.” As of February 25, 2010, there were 174,670,026 shares of common stock outstanding and approximately 49 record holders of common stock.

The following table sets forth the per-share range of the high and low closing sales prices of our common stock as reported on the NYSE and the cash dividends paid and declared per share for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.

 

     2009    2008
     First
Quarter
   Second
Quarter
   Third
Quarter
   Fourth
Quarter
   Year    First
Quarter
   Second
Quarter
   Third
Quarter
   Fourth
Quarter
   Year

Dividends paid per common share

   $ 0.20    $ 0.20    $ 0.21    $ 0.21    $ 0.82    —        —      $ 0.20    $ 0.20    $ 0.40

Dividend declared per common share

   $ 0.20    $ 0.20    $ 0.21    $ 0.21    $ 0.82    —        —      $ 0.20    $ 0.20    $ 0.40

Price range of common stock

                             

—High

   $ 21.48    $ 19.26    $ 20.48    $ 22.68    $ 22.68    —      $ 23.37    $ 22.95    $ 22.16    $ 23.37

—Low

   $ 16.53    $ 16.80    $ 18.28    $ 18.97    $ 16.53    —      $ 20.60    $ 18.63    $ 17.16    $ 17.16

For information on securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation please, see Item 12, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.”

 

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2008     2007     2006     2005  
     (in thousands, except per share data)  

Statement of operations data(1):

          

Operating revenues

   $ 2,440,703      $ 2,336,928      $ 2,214,215      $ 2,093,067      $ 2,136,746   

Operating income (loss)

   $ 173,609      $ (186,896   $ 15,129      $ 252,513      $ 111,575   

Income (loss) from continuing operations

   $ (233,083   $ (562,421   $ (342,275   $ (155,850   $ (275,130

Income (loss) from continuing operations per basic common share(2)

   $ (1.39   $ (3.52   $ (2.14   $ (0.97   $ (1.72

Income (loss) from continuing operations per diluted common share(2)

   $ (1.39   $ (3.52   $ (2.14   $ (0.97   $ (1.72

 

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     As of December 31,  
     2009     2008     2007     2006     2005  
     (in thousands)  

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 22,256      $ 9,542      $ 13,481      $ 29,754      $ 65,077   

Utility plant and property, net of depreciation

     10,523,844        9,991,783        9,199,909        8,605,341        8,101,769   

Total assets

     13,452,651        13,231,818        12,951,327        12,783,059        12,542,029   

Short-term and long-term debt

     5,461,745        5,278,895        4,991,806        4,103,532        5,030,078   

Redeemable preferred stock

     23,946        24,150        24,296        1,774,475        1,774,691   

Total debt and redeemable preferred stock

     5,485,691        5,303,045        5,016,102        5,878,007        6,804,769   

Common stockholders’ equity

     4,000,859        4,102,001        4,542,046        3,817,397        2,804,716   

Preferred stock without mandatory redemption requirements

     4,557        4,557        4,568        4,568        4,571   

Total stockholders’ equity

     4,005,416        4,106,558        4,546,614        3,821,965        2,809,287   
     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2008     2007     2006     2005  
     (in thousands)  

Other data:

          

Cash flows provided by (used in):

          

Operating activities

   $ 596,156      $ 552,169      $ 473,712      $ 323,748      $ 525,435   

Investing activities

     (703,611     (1,033,667     (746,578     (691,438     (530,165

Financing activities

     120,169        477,559        256,593        332,367        (9,049

Construction expenditures, included in investing activities

     (785,265     (1,008,806     (750,810     (682,863     (552,636

Dividends declared per common share

     0.82        0.40        —          —          —     

 

(1) On September 28, 2007, Thames US Holdings, at the time an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of RWE, was merged with and into American Water, with American Water as the surviving entity. American Water was an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of RWE until its initial public offering in April 2008. The historical consolidated financial statements of American Water represent the consolidated results of the Company, formerly issued under the name Thames Water Aqua US Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiary Companies.
(2) The number of shares used to compute income (loss) from continuing operations per basic common share and income (loss) from continuing operations per diluted common share for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2007 is 160.0 million after giving effect to the 160,000-for-1 stock split on November 7, 2007. For the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, there are no dilutive incremental common shares included in diluted earnings per share as all potentially dilutive instruments would be anti-dilutive.

 

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations covers periods prior to the consummation of our initial public offering and related transactions. Accordingly, the discussion and analysis of historical periods before our initial public offering and related transactions do not reflect the significant impact that these transactions have had or will have on us. You should read the following discussion together with the financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations, estimates and projections about our business and operations. The cautionary statements made in this Form 10-K should be read as applying to all related forward-looking statements whenever they appear in this Form 10-K. Our actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated and expressed in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those we discuss under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K. You should read “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.” Certain 2008 and 2007 amounts have been reclassified within operations and maintenance expense to conform to the 2009 presentation.

Overview

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned United States water and wastewater utility company, as measured both by operating revenue and population served. Our more than 7,000 employees provide drinking water, wastewater and other water-related services to more than 16 million people in 35 states and two Canadian provinces. In 2009, we generated $2,440.7 million in total operating revenue, representing approximately four times the operating revenue of the next largest investor-owned company in the United States water and wastewater business, and $173.6 million in operating income, which includes $450.0 million of impairment charges relating to continuing operations, and a net loss of $233.1 million.

Our primary business involves the ownership of water and wastewater utilities that provide water and wastewater services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Our Regulated Businesses that provide these services are generally subject to economic regulation by state PUCs in the states in which they operate. The federal government and the states also regulate environmental, health and safety and water quality matters. Our Regulated Businesses currently provide services in 20 states and in 2009 served approximately 3.3 million customers, or connections to our water and wastewater networks. We report the results of this business in our Regulated Businesses segment. For the year ended December 31, 2009 our Regulated Businesses generated $2,207.3 million in operating revenue, prior to inter-segment eliminations, representing 90.4% of our consolidated operating revenue.

We also provide services that are not subject to economic regulation by state PUCs. Our Non-Regulated Businesses include our:

 

   

Contract Operations Group, which enters into public/private partnerships, including O&M and DBO contracts for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities for municipalities and industrial customers, the United States military and other customers;

 

   

Applied Water Management Group, which works with customers to design, build and operate small water and wastewater treatment plants; and

 

   

Homeowner Services Group, which provides services to domestic homeowners to protect against the cost of repairing broken or leaking pipes inside and outside their homes.

We report these results in our Non-Regulated Businesses segment. For the year ended December 31, 2009, our Non-Regulated Businesses generated $257.7 million in operating revenue, prior to inter-segment eliminations.

 

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History

Prior to being acquired by RWE in 2003, we were the largest publicly traded water utility company as measured by both operating revenue and population served in the United States. In 2003, we were acquired by RWE and became a private company. In 2005, RWE decided to divest American Water. In March 2006, RWE decided to divest American Water through the sale of shares in one or more public offerings. In order to become a public company once again, we have had to incur substantial initial costs, including costs associated with ensuring adequate internal control over financial reporting in order to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Upon the completion of our initial public offering in April 2008, we again became listed on the NYSE. RWE Aqua Holdings GmbH, the selling stockholder, sold approximately 63.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock at that time. At December 31, 2008, RWE owned approximately 60% of the Company’s shares of common stock. On June 10, 2009 and August 18, 2009 RWE continued to divest of its investment in our common stock through public offerings of an additional 15.4 million shares and 40.3 million shares, respectively. In November 2009, RWE completed its divestiture of the Company in a public offering of the remaining 41.1 million shares of our common stock, including 3.7 million sold upon underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option. As a result of the full exercise of the underwriter’s option, RWE fully divested of their interest in our common stock.

Our Internal Control and Remediation Initiatives

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. However, from 2003 to April 28, 2008, we were an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of RWE and, as a privately owned company, were not required to comply with the requirements of the SEC and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or to prepare our own consolidated financial statements. As a public reporting company, we are required, among other things, to maintain a system of effective internal control over financial reporting suitable to prepare our publicly reported financial statements in a timely and accurate manner, and also to evaluate and report on such system of internal control. In particular, we are required to certify our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the year ended December 31, 2009, which required us to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management and our independent registered public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2006, we and our independent registered public accountants identified six material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, each of which could have resulted in a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements. Since that time, we addressed all areas of material weakness. As of December 31, 2009, we have tested the effectiveness of controls designated to address the weaknesses and, based on the results of these tests, no longer consider these control deficiencies to be material weaknesses. For further discussion, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry and Business.”

As of December 31, 2009, the Company had incurred $58.4 million, most of which were for contracted services, to remediate these material weaknesses and to document and test key financial reporting controls. As a condition to state PUC approval of the RWE Divestiture, we agreed that costs incurred in connection with our initial internal control and remediation initiatives would not be recoverable in rates charged to our customers.

 

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Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

As the largest investor-owned United States water and wastewater utility company, as measured both by operating revenue and population served, our financial condition and results of operations are influenced by a variety of industry-wide factors, including the following:

 

   

economic utility regulation;

 

   

the need for infrastructure investment;

 

   

compliance with environmental, health and safety standards;

 

   

production costs;

 

   

customer growth;

 

   

an overall trend of declining water usage per customer;

 

   

weather and seasonality and;

 

   

economic environment.

In addition, since our acquisition by RWE in 2003, our results of operations have also been significantly influenced by goodwill impairments. See “Goodwill Impairment.”

Factors that may affect the results of operations of our Regulated Businesses’ operating performance are mitigated by state PUCs granting us appropriate rate relief that is designed to allow us to recover prudently incurred expenses and to earn an appropriate rate of return on our investment.

Economic Utility Regulation

Our subsidiaries in the states in which we operate our Regulated Businesses are generally subject to extensive economic regulation by their respective state PUCs. Although specific authority might differ from state to state, in most states, these state PUCs must approve rates, accounting treatments, long-term financing programs, significant capital expenditures and plant additions, transactions between the regulated subsidiary and affiliated entities, reorganizations and mergers and acquisitions, in many instances prior to their completion. Regulatory policies not only vary from state to state, they may change over time. These policies will affect the timing as well as the extent of recovery of expenses and our actual return on invested capital.

Our operating revenue is typically determined by reference to the volume of water supplied to a customer multiplied by a price-per-gallon set by a tariff approved by the relevant state PUC. The process to obtain approval for a change in rates, or rate case, involves filing a petition with the state PUC on a periodic basis as determined by our capital expenditures needs, water usage and our operating costs. Rate cases and other rate-related proceedings can take several months to a year or more to complete. Therefore, there is frequently a delay, or regulatory lag, between the time one of our regulated subsidiaries makes a capital investment, a consumption decrease or incurs an operating expense increase and when those items are reflected in rates. The management team at each of our regulated subsidiaries works to minimize regulatory lag.

Our results of operations are significantly affected by rates authorized by the state PUCs in the states in which we operate, and we are subject to risks and uncertainties associated with rate stay-outs and delayed or inadequate rate recovery. In addition to general rate case filings, we generate revenues through other cost recovery procedures. For example, some states in which we operate allow utility subsidiaries to begin recovery of system infrastructure replacement costs without the necessity of filing a full rate proceeding. Since infrastructure replacement is a significant element of capital expenditures made by our subsidiaries, such programs can reduce regulatory lag.

 

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Currently, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, New York, California and Ohio have allowed the use of these infrastructure surcharges. These surcharges adjust periodically based on qualified capital expenditures being completed or anticipated in a future period. These surcharges are typically reset to zero when new base rates are effective and incorporate the costs of these infrastructure expenditures. In 2009, we were granted an additional $24.6 million in revenues, assuming constant sales volumes from such surcharges in several of our states. Furthermore, we were granted a $2.0 million increase for an arsenic surcharge in our Arizona subsidiary, allowing recovery for costs associated with the construction and operation of arsenic treatment facilities.

Also, some of the states in which we operate permit pass-through provisions that allow for an increase in certain operating costs, such as purchased power, purchased water and property taxes, to be passed onto and recovered from the customers outside of a full rate proceeding.

Some states have permitted use of a fully forecasted test year instead of historical data to set rates. Examples of these states include Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Tennessee and California. In all states in which we operate on a regulated basis PUCs have allowed utilities to update historical data for some changes that occur for some limited period of time subsequent to the historical test year. This allows utilities to take account of some more current costs or capital investments in the rate-setting process. The extent in which historical data can be updated will generally vary from state to state and whether the changes are known and measurable.

Another regulatory mechanism intended to address issues of regulatory lag includes the ability, in some circumstances, to recover in rates a return on utility plant before it is actually in service, instead of capitalizing an allowance for funds used during construction. Examples of states that have allowed such recovery include Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois and California.

The infrastructure surcharge, pass-through provisions, the forward-looking test year and the allowance of a return on utility plant before it is actually in service are examples of mechanisms that present an opportunity to limit the risks associated with regulatory lag. We employ each of these mechanisms as part of our rate case management program to ensure efficient recovery of our costs and investment and to ensure positive short-term liquidity and long-term profitability.

In addition, some states have permitted us to seek pre-approval of certain capital projects and associated costs. In this pre-approval process, the PUCs assess the prudency of such projects.

As a condition to our acquisition by RWE in 2003, we agreed not to file rate cases in some of the states where our Regulated Businesses operate. As of December 31, 2007, all rate stay-out provisions associated with the RWE acquisition had expired.

In 2009, we received authorizations for additional annualized revenues from general rate cases, including staged increases, of $80.9 million. We are awaiting the final order for our Hawaii general rate case that was filed in 2007, requesting $1.3 million in total additional annual revenues. In October 2008, The Hawaii Public Utility Commission approved on an interim basis an increase in additional annualized revenues of $0.7 million. The interim rates were effective beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008. Also, as of December 31, 2009, we are awaiting final orders in eight other states, for general rate cases filed in 2009, requesting additional annualized revenues of $217.6 million. There is no assurance that the filed amount, or any portion thereof, of any requested increases will be granted. On February 26, 2010, we filed a general rate case in Kentucky requesting additional annualized revenue of $25.8 million.

Infrastructure Investment

The water and wastewater utility industry is extremely capital intensive. We invested approximately $785 million and $1 billion in net Company-funded capital improvements in 2009 and 2008, respectively. For 2010 and the foreseeable future, we anticipate spending between $800 million and $1.0 billion yearly on Company-funded capital investment, depending upon the timing of major capital projects. Our capital investment includes

 

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both infrastructure renewal programs, where we replace existing infrastructure, as needed, and construction of new facilities to meet customer growth. As a percentage of the total capital investment, we estimate our annual investment to replace aging infrastructure including mains, meters, and supply and treatment facilities, will be approximately 40%. We estimate that of the total capital investment in new facilities to serve customer growth and to comply with water quality standards and other regulatory requirements will be 20% and 15%, respectively. Projects to enhance system reliability, quality of service, risk reduction as well as efficiency related and other projects are estimated to be approximately 25% of the total capital investment.

These capital investments are needed on an ongoing basis to comply with existing and new regulations, renew aging treatment and network assets, provide capacity for new growth and enhance system reliability, security and quality of service. The need for continuous investment presents a challenge due to the potential for regulatory lag, or the delay in recovering our operating expenses and earning an appropriate rate of return on our invested capital and a return of our invested capital. Because the decisions of state PUCs and the timing of those decisions can have a significant impact on the operations and earnings of our Regulated Businesses, we maintain a rate case management program guided by the goals of obtaining efficient recovery of costs of capital and utility operation and maintenance costs, including costs incurred for compliance with environmental, health and safety and water quality regulation. As discussed above under “—Economic Utility Regulation,” we pursue methods to minimize the adverse impact of regulatory lag and continue to work with state PUCs and legislatures to implement a number of approaches to achieve this result, including promoting the implementation of forms of forward-looking test years and infrastructure surcharges.

Compliance with Environmental, Health and Safety Standards

Our water and wastewater operations are subject to extensive United States federal, state and local and, in the case of our Canadian operations, Canadian laws and regulations, governing the protection of the environment, health and safety, the quality of the water we deliver to our customers, water allocation rights, and the manner in which we collect, treat, discharge and dispose of wastewater. These requirements include the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the amendments to and reauthorizations of the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Acts, and similar state and Canadian laws and regulations. We are also required to obtain various environmental permits from regulatory agencies for our operations. State PUCs also set conditions and standards for the water and wastewater services we deliver. We incur substantial costs associated with compliance with environmental, health and safety and water quality regulation to which our Regulated Businesses are subject.

Environmental, health and safety and water quality regulations are complex and change frequently, and the overall trend has been that they have become more stringent over time. We face the risk that as newer or stricter standards are introduced, they could increase our operating expenses. In the past, we have generally been able to recover expenses associated with compliance related to environmental, health and safety standards, but this recovery is affected by regulatory lag and the corresponding uncertainties surrounding rate recovery.

Production Costs

Our water and wastewater services require significant production inputs which result in significant production costs. These costs include fuel and power, which is used to operate pumps and other equipment, purchased water, and chemicals used to treat water and wastewater. We also incur production costs for waste disposal. For 2009, production costs accounted for approximately 22.9% of our total operation and maintenance costs. Price increases associated with these inputs impact our results of operations until rate relief is granted.

Customer Growth

Customer growth in our Regulated Businesses is driven by (i) organic population growth within our authorized service areas and (ii) by adding new customers to our regulated customer base by acquiring water and wastewater utility systems. Generally, we add customers through tuck-ins of small water and/or wastewater

 

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systems, typically serving fewer than 10,000 customers, in close geographic proximity to areas where we currently operate our Regulated Businesses. During 2009, 2008 and, 2007, we had cash outflows of $7.8 million, $12.5 million and $15.9 million, respectively, for tuck-in acquisitions of water and wastewater systems which allowed us to expand our regulated customer base. We also seek larger acquisitions that allow us to acquire multiple water and wastewater utility systems in our existing and new markets. Our experienced development team evaluates potential acquisition targets across the country. Before entering new regulated markets, we will evaluate the regulatory environment to ensure that we will have the opportunity to achieve an appropriate rate of return on our investment while maintaining our high standards for quality, reliability and compliance with environmental, health and safety and water quality standards. These acquisitions may include acquisitions of companies that have operations in multiple markets. For further information, see “Business—Growth.”

Declining Water Usage Per Customer

Increased water conservation, including the use of more efficient household fixtures and appliances among residential consumers, combined with declining household sizes in the United States, have contributed to a trend of declining water usage per residential customer. Additionally, in the current economic environment, both industrial and commercial usage continues to decline.

The average annual decrease in residential water usage per customer from January 2000 through December 2009 (as a percentage of January 2000 usage) in the larger states served by our Regulated Businesses ranged from a decline of 0.65% per year in New Jersey at the low end to as high as 1.51% per year in Arizona. The decline in industrial and commercial usage from 2008 to 2009 was 7.6%.

Because the characteristics of residential water use are driven by many factors, including socio-economic and other demographic characteristics of our service areas, climate, seasonal weather patterns and water rates, these declining trends vary by state and service area and change over time. The trend of declining residential water usage per customer is higher in the predominantly rural states served by our Regulated Businesses. We do not believe that the trend in any particular state or region will have a disproportionate impact on our results of operations.

Our Regulated Businesses are heavily dependent upon operating revenue generated from rates we charge to our customers for the volume of water they use. Declining usage due to conservation or economic environment contribute to regulatory lag and will have a negative impact on our long-term operating revenues if we are unable to secure appropriate regulatory treatment to offset the usage decline.

Water Supply

Our ability to meet the existing and future water demands of our customers depends on an adequate supply of water. Drought, governmental restrictions, overuse of sources of water, the protection of threatened species or habitats or other factors may limit the availability of ground and surface water. Also, customer usage of water is affected by weather conditions, in particular during the warmer months. Our water systems experience higher demand in the summer due to the warmer temperatures and increased usage by customers for lawn irrigation and other outdoor uses. Summer weather that is cooler and wetter than average generally serves to suppress customer water demand and can have a downward effect on our operating revenue and operating income. Conversely, when weather conditions are extremely dry and even if our water supplies are sufficient to serve our customers, our systems may be affected by drought-related warnings and/or water usage restrictions imposed by governmental agencies, purchase supply allocations and mandatory conservation measures. All of the above conditions serve to reduce customer demand and operating revenues. These restrictions may be imposed at a regional or state level and may affect our service areas regardless of our readiness to meet unrestricted customer demands. We employ a variety of measures to ensure that we have adequate sources of water supply, both in the short-term and over the long-term. For additional detail concerning these measures, see “Business—Our Regulated Businesses—Overview of Networks, Facilities and Water Supply.”

 

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The geographic diversity of our service areas tends to mitigate some of the effect of weather extremes. In any given summer, some areas are likely to experience drier than average weather while other areas will experience wetter than average weather.

Goodwill Impairment

At December 31, 2009, the Company’s goodwill totaled $1,250.4 million. The Company’s annual impairment reviews are performed as of November 30 of each year, in conjunction with the timing of the completion of the Company’s annual strategic business plan. The Company also undertakes interim reviews when the Company determines that a triggering event that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value has occurred.

The Company uses a two-step impairment test to identify potential goodwill impairment and measure the amount of a goodwill impairment loss to be recognized (if any). The step 1 calculation used to identify potential impairment compares the calculated fair value for each of the Company’s reporting units to their respective net carrying values (book values), including goodwill, on the measurement date. If the fair value of any reporting unit is less than such reporting unit’s carrying value, then step 2 is performed to measure the amount of the impairment loss (if any) for such reporting unit.

The step 2 calculation of the impairment test compares, by reporting unit, the implied fair value of the goodwill to the carrying value of goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is equal to the excess of the fair value of each reporting unit above the fair value of such reporting unit’s identified assets and liabilities. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill for any reporting unit, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to the excess (not to exceed the carrying value of goodwill) for that reporting unit.

The determination of the fair value of each reporting unit and the fair value of each reporting unit’s assets and liabilities is performed as of the measurement date using observable market data before and after the measurement date (if that subsequent information is relevant to the fair value on the measurement date).

For the November 30, 2009 impairment test, the estimated fair value of the Regulated reporting unit for step 1 was based on a combination of the following valuation techniques:

 

   

observable trading prices of comparable equity securities of publicly-traded water utilities considered by us to be the Company’s peers; and

 

   

discounted cash flow models developed from the Company’s internal forecasts.

The first valuation technique applies average peer multiples to the Regulated reporting unit’s historic and forecasted cash flows. The peer multiples are calculated using the average trading prices of comparable equity securities of publicly-traded water utilities, their published cash flows and forecasts of market price and cash flows for those peers.

The second valuation technique forecasts each reporting unit’s five-year cash flows using an estimated long-term growth rate and discounts these cash flows at their respective estimated weighted average cost of capital.

Because of the unique nature, small size and lack of historical earnings of most of the Non-Regulated reporting units, a market approach could not be reasonably applied. As such the estimated fair values of the Non-regulated reporting units were determined entirely on the basis of discounted cash flow models.

The Company has completed its November 30, 2009 annual impairment review and does not believe that the Company’s goodwill balance was impaired. The Company’s fair value calculated in its 2009 impairment test period was approximately 6% above the aggregate carrying value of its reporting units.

 

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However, there can be no assurances that the Company will not be required to recognize an impairment of goodwill in the future due to market conditions or other factors related to the Company’s performance. These market events could include a decline over a period of time of the Company’s stock price, a decline over a period of time in valuation multiples of comparable water utilities, the lack of an increase in the Company’s market price consistent with its peer companies or decreases in control premiums. A decline in the forecasted results in our business plan, such as changes in rate case results or capital investment budgets or changes in our interest rates, could also result in an impairment charge. Recognition of impairments of a significant portion of goodwill would negatively affect the Company’s reported results of operations and total capitalization, the effect of which could be material and could make it more difficult to maintain its credit ratings, secure financing on attractive terms, maintain compliance with debt covenants and meet expectations of our regulators.

In making the determination, we considered both qualitative and quantitative factors, including the effect of the recent volatility in the equity and debt markets on the Company’s market capitalization. As such, the Company believes that the current evaluation technique is more appropriate than relying solely on the current trading market value of the Company’s common stock.

We also made certain assumptions, which we believe to be appropriate, that support the fair value of our reporting units. We considered, in addition to the listed trading price of the Company’s shares, the applicability of a control premium to our shares and certain other factors we deemed appropriate. As a result, we concluded that the Company’s fair value exceeds what we might otherwise have concluded had we relied on market price alone.

The difference between our calculated market capitalization (which approximates carrying value) and the aggregate fair value of our reporting units resulted from an estimated control premium. The estimated control premium represents the incremental premium a buyer is willing to pay to acquire a controlling, majority interest in the Company. In estimating the control premium, management principally considered the current market conditions and historical premiums paid in utility acquisitions observed in the marketplace.

The Company recorded impairment charges for goodwill, in the amount of $450.0 million in the first quarter of 2009, $750.0 million in the first quarter of 2008, $243.3 in third quarter of 2007 and $266.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

 

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Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2008     2007  
     (in thousands, except per share data)  

Operating revenues

   $ 2,440,703      $ 2,336,928      $ 2,214,215   
                        

Operating expenses:

      

Operation and maintenance

     1,324,355        1,303,798        1,246,479   

Depreciation and amortization

     294,240        271,261        267,335   

General taxes

     199,262        199,139        183,253   

Gain on sale of assets

     (763     (374     (7,326

Impairment charge

     450,000        750,000        509,345   
                        

Total operating expenses, net

     2,267,094        2,523,824        2,199,086   
                        

Operating income (loss)

     173,609        (186,896     15,129   
                        

Other income (deductions):

      

Interest, net

     (296,545     (285,155     (283,165

Allowance for other funds used during construction

     11,486        14,497        7,759   

Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction

     7,224        8,171        3,449   

Amortization of debt expense

     (6,647     (5,895     (4,867

Other, net

     (792     4,684        6,176   
                        

Total other income (deductions)

     (285,274     (263,698     (270,648
                        

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

     (111,665     (450,594     (255,519
                        

Provision for income taxes

     121,418        111,827        86,756   
                        

Loss from continuing operations

     (233,083     (562,421     (342,275

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

     —          —          (551
                        

Net loss

   $ (233,083   $ (562,421   $ (342,826
                        

Loss per common share:

      

Basic

      

Loss from continuing operations

   $ (1.39   $ (3.52   $ (2.14

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

   $ —        $ —        $ (0.00

Net loss

   $ (1.39   $ (3.52   $ (2.14

Diluted

      

Loss from continuing operations

   $ (1.39   $ (3.52   $ (2.14

Loss discontinued operations, net of tax

   $ —        $ —        $ (0.00

Net loss

   $ (1.39   $ (3.52   $ (2.14

Average common shares outstanding during the period:

      

Basic

     168,164        159,967        160,000   

Diluted

     168,164        159,967        160,000   

 

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The following table summarizes certain financial information for our Regulated and Non-Regulated Businesses for the periods indicated (without giving effect to inter-segment eliminations):

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,
     2009    2008    2007
     Regulated
Businesses
   Non-
Regulated
Businesses
   Regulated
Businesses
   Non-
Regulated
Businesses
   Regulated
Businesses
   Non-
Regulated
Businesses
     (in thousands)

Operating revenues

   $ 2,207,290    $ 257,710    $ 2,082,740    $ 272,186    $ 1,987,565    $ 242,678

Adjusted EBIT(1)

   $ 591,606    $ 21,264    $ 531,774    $ 26,307    $ 500,088    $ 23,579

 

(1) Adjusted EBIT is defined as earnings before interest and income taxes from continuing operations. Management evaluates the performance of its segments and allocates resources based on several factors, of which the primary measure is Adjusted EBIT. Adjusted EBIT does not represent cash flows for periods presented and should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows as a source of liquidity. Adjusted EBIT as defined by the Company may not be comparable with Adjusted EBIT as defined by other companies.

Our primary business involves the ownership of water and wastewater utilities that provide services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As such, our results of operations are impacted significantly by rates authorized by the state regulatory commissions in the states in which we operate. The table below details additional annual revenues, including step increases and assuming a constant volume, authorized by rate decisions and infrastructure charges filings which were granted in 2009, 2008 and 2007.

 

     Years Ended December 31,
     2009    2008    2007
     (in millions)

State

        

General Rate Cases:

        

Pennsylvania

   30.8    1.9    36.0

New Jersey(1)

   1.6    72.1    56.2

Kentucky

   10.3    —      7.9

Missouri

   —      34.5    21.4

Illinois

   —      21.6    —  

Indiana

   —      —      14.0

California(2)

   16.0    13.0    0.5

West Virginia

   5.2    14.5    —  

New York(3)

   —      6.6    —  

Arizona

   8.1    8.6    0.8

Iowa

   6.1    4.3    —  

Other

   2.8    10.6    10.3
              

Subtotal—General Rate Cases

   80.9    187.7    147.1
              

Infrastructure Charges:

        

Pennsylvania

   15.2    10.3    4.6

Missouri

   2.7    2.7    2.6

Indiana

   3.8    3.9    —  

Illinois

   0.9    1.1    1.7

Arizona

   2.0    0.6    2.9

Other

   2.0    —      —  
              
   107.5    206.3    158.9
              

 

(1) 2009 amount includes additional increases of $0.5 million effective in 2010 and $0.4 million effective in 2011.
(2) 2009 amount includes additional increase of $1.3 million effective in 2010 and $1.8 million in 2011; 2008 amount includes additional increase of $2.0 million effective in 2009 and $2.5 million effective in 2010.
(3) 2008 amount includes additional increases of $1.0 million effective in 2009 and $1.0 million effective in 2010.

 

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The effective date for the 2009 Pennsylvania rate increase was November 7, 2009. The effective dates for the larger rate increases granted in 2008 were December 8, 2008, November 28, 2008 and August 8, 2008 in New Jersey, Missouri and Illinois, respectively. The effective dates for the larger rate increases granted in 2007 were March 30, 2007, November 30, 2007 and October 22, 2007 in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Missouri, respectively.

Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2009 and 2008

Operating revenues. Our operating revenues increased by $103.8 million, or 4.4%, to $2,440.7 million for 2009 from $2,336.9 million for 2008. Regulated Businesses’ revenues increased by $124.6 million, or 6.0%, for 2009 compared to 2008. The Non-Regulated Businesses’ revenues for 2009 decreased by $14.5 million, or 5.3%, from 2008.

The increase in the Regulated Businesses’ revenues was primarily due to incremental revenues of $187.3 million resulting from rate increases obtained through general rate case as well as higher revenues resulting from surcharges and balancing accounts of $18.2 million. Additional revenues of $4.9 million were attributable to water and wastewater acquisitions, most of which were in the later half of 2008, and fire service revenues increased by $5.3 million. These increases were offset by an $93.6 million decrease in revenues related to lower customer consumption, in a number of our operating companies mainly as a result of wet and cool weather in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern regions of the United States as well as the downturn in the economy and conservation.

Our Non-Regulated Businesses’ operating revenues decreased by $14.5 million, or 5.3%, to $257.7 million in 2009 from $272.2 million for 2008. The net decrease was primarily attributable to lower revenues in our Contract Operations Group and in our Applied Water Management Group, partially offset by increased revenues in our Homeowner Services Group. The decrease in Contract Operations Group revenues was primarily attributable to lower revenues associated with design and build contracts offset by increased military construction and O&M project revenues. Applied Water Management Group revenues were lower than the prior year primarily due to the disposal of a pumping and hauling business in late 2008 in addition to the decline in design and build activity resulting from the downturn in new home construction. The increase from our Homeowner Service Group represented increased product penetration within its existing customer base and the addition of New Mexico to our list of states where we offer our services.

The following table sets forth the amounts and percentages of Regulated Businesses’ revenues and water sales volume by customer class:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2008     2009     2008  
     Operating Revenues
(dollars in thousands)
    Water Sales Volume
(gallons in millions)
 

Customer Class

                    

Water service:

                    

Residential

   $ 1,263,178    57.2   $ 1,197,723    57.5   203,701    53.4   214,045    52.9

Commercial

     425,746    19.3     403,596    19.4   85,490    22.4   89,920    22.2

Industrial

     99,696    4.5     101,769    4.9   36,212    9.5   42,032    10.4

Public and other

     271,959    12.3     255,637    12.3   55,911    14.7   58,838    14.5

Other water revenues

     57,016    2.6     44,157    2.1   —      —        —      —     
                                                

Total water revenues

     2,117,595    95.9     2,002,882    96.2   381,314    100.0   404,835    100.0
                                

Wastewater service

     89,695    4.1     79,858    3.8          
                                    
   $ 2,207,290    100.0   $ 2,082,740    100.0          
                                    

 

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Water services—Water service operating revenues from residential customers for 2009 increased $65.5 million, or 5.5%, from 2008, primarily due to rate increases offset by a decrease in sales volume. The volume of water sold to residential customers decreased by 10.3 billion gallons, or 4.8%, from 2008. We attribute this decrease to wetter and cooler than normal weather conditions in a number of states in which we operate. Water conservation in general, as well as the impact of California’s new conservation tariffs which were effective in 2009 and its severe water shortage due to legal restrictions imposed upon withdrawals from the Sacramento Delta, and a long-term drought also contributed to the reduction.

Water service operating revenues from commercial water customers for 2009 increased by $22.2 million, or 5.5%, mainly due to rate increases offset by decreases in sales volume compared to 2008. The volume of water sold to commercial customers decreased by 4.4 billion gallons, or 4.9%, from 2008. We attribute this decrease to the weather conditions as well as the downturn in the economy.

Water service operating revenues from industrial customers for 2009 decreased $2.1 million, or 2.0%, from 2008 mainly due to decreased sales volume offset by rate increases. The volume of water sold to industrial customers decreased 5.8 billion gallons, or 13.8%, from 2008. We attribute the decrease in the sales volumes to the current economic environment as customers reduce demand due to slow-down in their production process or the shut-down of production altogether in the case of some bankruptcies.

Water service operating revenues from public and other customers increased $16.3 million, or 6.4%, from 2008 mainly due to rate increases. Revenues from municipal governments for fire protection services and customers requiring special private fire service facilities totaled $113.2 million for 2009, an increase of $8.8 million from 2008. Revenues generated by sales to governmental entities and resale customers for 2009 totaled $158.8 million, an increase of $7.5 million from 2008.

Wastewater services—Our subsidiaries provide wastewater services in 12 states. Revenues from these services for 2009 increased by $9.8 million, or 12.3%, from 2008. The increase was attributable to increases in rates charged to customers in a number of our operating companies as well as higher revenues as a result of acquisitions of wastewater systems in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the last six months of 2008.

Operation and maintenance. Operation and maintenance expense increased $20.6 million, or 1.6%, for 2009 compared to 2008.

Operation and maintenance expense for 2009 and 2008, by major expense category, were as follows:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Production costs

   $ 303,298    $ 288,571    $ 14,727      5.1

Employee-related costs

     540,225      505,550      34,675      6.9

Operating supplies and services

     248,521      283,230      (34,709   (12.3 )% 

Maintenance materials and services

     131,781      136,305      (4,524   (3.3 )% 

Customer billing and accounting

     47,768      44,012      3,756      8.5

Other

     52,762      46,130      6,632      14.4
                        

Total

   $ 1,324,355    $ 1,303,798    $ 20,557      1.6
                        

 

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Production costs increased by $14.7 million, or 5.1%, for 2009 compared to 2008. Production costs by major expense type were as follows:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Fuel and power

   $ 108,578    $ 110,641    $ (2,063   (1.9 )% 

Purchased water

     97,966      95,253      2,713      2.8

Chemicals

     63,289      50,823      12,466      24.5

Waste disposal

     33,465      31,854      1,611      5.1
                        

Total

   $ 303,298    $ 288,571    $ 14,727      5.1
                        

The decrease in fuel and power costs was primarily due to lower fuel prices in addition to the decreased water sales volumes partially offset by increased electric rates. Purchased water increased due to rate increases by our suppliers. The increase in chemical costs is due to rising prices for those commodities compared to the same period in the prior year.

Employee-related costs including wage and salary, group insurance, and pension expense increased $34.7 million, or 6.9%, for 2009 compared to 2008. These employee-related costs represented 40.8% and 38.8% of operation and maintenance expenses for 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
   Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Salaries and wages

   $ 391,074    $ 379,509    $ 11,565    3.0

Pensions

     50,392      39,315      11,077    28.2

Group insurance

     77,102      67,330      9,772    14.5

Other benefits

     21,657      19,396      2,261    11.7
                       

Total

   $ 540,225    $ 505,550    $ 34,675    6.9
                       

Salaries and wages increased $5.8 million and $3.8 million in our Regulated and Non-Regulated Businesses, respectively. These increases primarily resulted from increased employee headcount as a result of enhancing customer service and merit wage rate increases partially offset by $4.3 million of wages related to job reclassification of certain hourly employees for services performed which was recorded in 2008 in addition to less expense for overtime worked in 2009. The increase in pension expense was primarily due to an increase in our Regulated Businesses’ pension expense of $11.7 million, or 25.8%, for 2009 over 2008. This increase is mainly attributable to an increase in the amortization of actuarial losses attributable to lower than expected returns on plan assets in 2008 as a result of the decline in the economic environment. These market conditions are also the primary reason for the increase in costs for the other post employment benefits which are included in the group insurance amounts above. Medical benefit expenses, which are included in group insurance, for employees increased due to an increase in the number of employees and the rising cost of health care. Other benefits increased primarily as a result of increased salaries and wages which in turn resulted in increased Company contribution to the 401(k) and defined contribution plans. Also other benefit expenses increased due to the benefit expense related to the new employee stock purchase plan.

 

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Operating supplies and services include the day-to-day expenses of office operation, legal and other professional services, as well as information systems and other office equipment rental charges. For 2009 these costs decreased by $34.7 million, or 12.3%, compared to 2008.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Contracted services

   $ 83,399    $ 111,847    $ (28,448   (25.4 )% 

Office supplies and services

     63,134      63,422      (288   (0.5 )% 

Transportation

     32,240      36,337      (4,097   (11.3 )% 

Rents

     22,481      22,543      (62   (0.3 )% 

Other

     47,267      49,081      (1,814   (3.7 )% 
                        

Total

   $ 248,521    $ 283,230    $ (34,709   (12.3 )% 
                        

Contracted services decreased in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. This decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in contracted services in our Non-Regulated Businesses of $19.1 million in 2009 as compared to 2008, primarily as a result of a decreased level of activity for our design, build and operate project in Fillmore, California. Additionally, consulting fees associated with our remediation efforts to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 decreased $9.4 million. The decrease in transportation costs is due to lower gasoline prices, on average, in 2009 as compared to 2008. Other operating supplies and services decreased due to lower divestiture and initial public offering (“IPO”) related costs. These costs totaled $1.9 million in 2009 compared to $12.4 million in 2008. Offsetting these decreases were 2009 condemnation costs of $2.4 million, the establishment of reserves for assets not recoverable at this time associated with the California rate case of $1.0 million, an increase in business development costs of $1.0 million and $1.5 million of profits included in our Non-Regulated Businesses’ expenses in 2008 as a result of the finalization and acceptance by the third party related to construction projects. Also included is an adjustment of $3.4 million attributable to previously capitalized costs.

Maintenance materials and services, which include emergency repairs as well as costs for preventive maintenance, decreased $4.5 million, or by 3.3%, for 2009 compared to 2008.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Maintenance services and supplies

   $ 90,843    $ 94,790    $ (3,947   (4.2 )% 

Removal costs, net

     40,938      41,515      (577   (1.4 )% 
                        

Total

   $ 131,781    $ 136,305    $ (4,524   (3.3 )% 
                        

Our Regulated Businesses’ maintenance materials and service costs decreased by $1.2 million in 2009. In addition to the lower removal costs, the 2008 costs included $2.6 million associated with a program in Illinois to maintain valves and fire hydrants. Offsetting these decreases were additional costs incurred by our Arizona subsidiary attributable to a backbilling by the City of Glendale, Arizona for our pro rata share of sewer line maintenance amounting to $1.0 million as well as increased tank painting costs of $0.7 million in one of our operating subsidiaries. The Non-Regulated Businesses’ maintenance and services expenses decreased by $3.3 million, mainly due to decreased Homeowner Services maintenance services and supplies due to favorable claims experience.

 

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Customer billing and accounting expenses increased by $3.8 million, or 8.5%, for 2009 compared to 2008.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
   Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Uncollectible accounts expense

   $ 21,423    $ 20,298    $ 1,125    5.5

Postage

     12,600      11,829      771    6.5

Other

     13,745      11,885      1,860    15.6
                       

Total

   $ 47,768    $ 44,012    $ 3,756    8.5
                       

The increase was primarily the result of higher uncollectible accounts expense in our Regulated Businesses of $2.7 million due to an unusually low balance in 2008 as the result of a collection effort in the first quarter of 2008 to collect previously written off accounts. Our overall 2009 write-off percentages and specific provisions for certain receivables, including a number of commercial and industrial customers that have filed for bankruptcy, increased in 2009 due the uncertainty of collectability, which we believe is attributable to the current economic environment. Our Non-Regulated Businesses’ uncollectible expense decreased by $1.6 million primarily as a result of the collection of accounts previously written-off. The increase in the other category is mainly due to an increase in collection fees in our Regulated Businesses.

Other operation and maintenance expenses include casualty and liability insurance premiums and regulatory costs. These costs increased by $6.6 million, or 14.4%, for 2009 compared to 2008.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009    2008    Increase
(Decrease)
   Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Insurance

   $ 37,410    $ 33,173    $ 4,237    12.8

Regulatory expenses

     15,352      12,957      2,395    18.5
                       

Total

   $ 52,762    $ 46,130    $ 6,632    14.4
                       

Insurance expense increased due to less favorable claims experience in 2009 compared to 2008 in addition to higher general liability and property insurance premiums. Regulatory expenses increased in 2009 primarily as a result of a $3.5 million write-off of rate case expenses as well as $1.3 million of on-going rate case expenses associated with our California subsidiary; costs incurred in connection with the rate case appeal in our Tennessee subsidiary as well as increased amortization of costs related to final rate orders received in several states. Partially offsetting these increases were decreases associated with the write-off of deferred rate case expenses in Tennessee, Illinois, and Ohio in 2008 amounting to $3.2 million.

Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $23.0 million, or 8.5%, for 2009 compared to 2008. This increase was primarily due to additional assets placed in service, mainly in our Regulated Businesses, over the last year and a $2.4 million write-off of certain software costs.

General taxes. General taxes expense, which includes taxes for property, payroll, gross receipts, and other miscellaneous items, remained relatively unchanged, increasing by only $0.1 million or 0.1% in 2009 compared to 2008.

Gain on sale of assets. The gain on sale of assets was $0.8 million for 2009 compared to a gain of $0.4 million for 2008. The gains in 2009 and 2008 are primarily attributable to non-recurring sales of assets no longer used in our operations.

 

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Impairment charge. The impairment charge was $450.0 million for 2009 compared to $750.0 million for 2008. The 2009 amount recorded included an impairment charge to goodwill of our Regulated Businesses in the amount of $448.2 million and our Non-Regulated Businesses of $1.8 million. The 2009 impairment charge, which was recorded in the first quarter of 2009, was primarily related to the high degree of stock market volatility experienced and as of March 31, 2009, the sustained period for which the Company’s market price was below its carrying value. The 2008 impairment charge was primarily due to the market price of the Company’s common stock (both the initial public offering price and the price during subsequent trading) being less than what was anticipated during our 2007 annual test. Also contributing to the impairment was a decline in the fair value of the Company’s debt (due to increased interest rates). See “Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Goodwill Impairment.”

Other income (deductions). Interest expense, net of interest income, the primary component of our other income (deductions), increased by $11.4 million, or 4.0%, for 2009 compared to 2008. The increase is primarily due to increased borrowings associated with capital expenditures. In addition, AFUDC decreased by $4.0 million in 2009 as compared to the same period in the prior year as a result of certain key projects being placed in-service. Other items contributing to the change include lower miscellaneous income for 2009 compared to 2008 primarily as a result of the change in market value of investments held for certain employees’ elected deferred compensation.

Provision for income taxes. Our consolidated provision for income taxes increased $9.6 million, or 8.6%, to $121.4 million for 2009 from $111.8 million for 2008. The effective tax rates of (108.7%) and (24.8%) for 2009 and 2008, respectively, reflect the tax effects of the goodwill impairment charges as discrete items, as the Company considers these charges as infrequently occurring or unusual. In addition to the tax benefits associated with the goodwill impairment charges 2009 included tax benefits attributable to the impact of tax law changes as well as other discrete items. The Company’s annual effective tax rate was 39.3 % and 39.8 % for 2009 and 2008, respectively, excluding the impact of the goodwill impairment charges and the various other discrete items.

Net loss. The net loss for 2009 was $233.1 million compared to a net loss of $562.4 million for 2008. The variation between the periods is the result of the aforementioned changes.

Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2008 and 2007

Operating revenues. Our operating revenues increased by $122.7 million, or 5.5%, to $2,336.9 million for 2008 from $2,214.2 million for 2007. Regulated Businesses’ revenues increased by $95.2 million, or 4.8%, for 2008 compared to 2007. The Non-Regulated Businesses’ revenues for 2008 increased by $29.5 million, or 12.2%, from 2007.

The increase in the Regulated Businesses’ revenues was primarily due to rate increases obtained through general rate cases totaling approximately $132.8 million as well as higher revenues resulting from surcharges of $4.5 million and from customer growth and acquisitions of approximately $3.3 million. This increase was offset by a $52.3 million decrease in revenues related to lower customer consumption, mainly in our states in the Midwestern region of the United States primarily due to the extremely wet weather conditions in those areas during 2008, as well as decreased usage in 2008 compared to 2007 in New Jersey and Pennsylvania mainly due to drier weather conditions in 2007.

Our Non-Regulated Businesses’ operating revenues increased by $29.5 million, or 12.2%, to $272.2 million in 2008 from $242.7 for 2007. The net increase was primarily attributable to higher revenues in our Contract Operations Group and our Homeowner Services Group, partially offset by decreased revenues in our Applied Water Management Group and Canadian Fixed Residuals. The increase in Contract Operations Group revenues was primarily attributable to incremental revenues associated with design and build contracts, as well as increased military construction and O&M project revenues. The increase from our Homeowner Service Group

 

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represented increased product penetration within its existing customer base. Applied Water Management Group revenues were lower than the prior year as a result of the decline in design and build activity resulting from the downturn in new home construction.

The following table sets forth the amounts and percentages of Regulated Businesses’ revenues and water sales volume by customer class:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008     2007     2008     2007  
     Operating Revenues
(dollars in thousands)
    Water Sales Volume
(gallons in millions)
 

Customer Class

                    

Water service:

                    

Residential

   $ 1,197,723    57.5   $ 1,146,133    57.7   214,045    52.9   223,386    52.8

Commercial

     403,596    19.4     385,272    19.4   89,920    22.2   93,010    22.0

Industrial

     101,769    4.9     94,734    4.8   42,032    10.4   44,609    10.5

Public and other

     255,637    12.3     247,578    12.4   58,838    14.5   62,299    14.7

Other water revenues

     44,157    2.1     38,277    1.9   —      —        —      —     
                                                

Total water revenues

     2,002,882    96.2     1,911,994    96.2   404,835    100.0   423,304    100.0
                                

Wastewater service

     79,858    3.8     75,571    3.8          
                                    
   $ 2,082,740    100.0   $ 1,987,565    100.0          
                                    

Water services—Water service operating revenues from residential customers for 2008 increased $51.6 million, or 4.5%, from 2007, primarily due to rate increases offset by a decrease in sales volume. The volume of water sold to residential customers decreased by 9.3 billion gallons, or 4.2%, from 2007, largely as a result of wetter weather conditions in California and the Midwestern region of the United States in 2008 and drier weather conditions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2007.

Water service operating revenues from commercial water customers for 2008 increased by $18.3 million, or 4.8%, mainly due to rate increases offset by decreases in sales volume compared to 2007. The volume of water sold to commercial customers decreased by 3.1 billion gallons, or 3.3%, from 2007. 

Water service operating revenues from industrial customers for 2008 increased $7.0 million, or 7.4%, from 2007 mainly due to rate increases, offset by decreased sales volume that we believe were caused by the downturn in the economy. The volume of water sold to industrial customers decreased 2.6 billion gallons, or 5.8%, from 2007.

Water service operating revenues from public and other customers increased $8.1 million, or 3.3%, from 2007 mainly due to rate increases. Revenues from municipal governments for fire protection services and customers requiring special private fire service facilities totaled $104.3 million for 2008, an increase of $5.0 million from 2007. Revenues generated by sales to governmental entities and resale customers for 2008 totaled $151.3 million, an increase of $3.1 million from 2007.

Wastewater services—Our subsidiaries provide wastewater services in 12 states. Revenues from these services for 2008 increased by $4.3 million, or 5.7%, from 2007. The increase was attributable to increases in rates charged to customers principally in Arizona, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Operation and maintenance. Operation and maintenance expense increased $57.3 million, or 4.6%, for 2008 compared to 2007.

 

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Operation and maintenance expense for the 2008 and 2007, by major expense category, were as follows:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Production costs

   $ 288,571    $ 278,065    $ 10,506      3.8

Employee-related costs

     505,550      463,362      42,188      9.1

Operating supplies and services

     283,230      293,475      (10,245   (3.5 )% 

Maintenance materials and services

     136,305      128,016      8,289      6.5

Customer billing and accounting

     44,012      38,256      5,756      15.0

Other

     46,130      45,305      825      1.8
                        

Total

   $ 1,303,798    $ 1,246,479    $ 57,319      4.6
                        

Production costs increased by $10.5 million, or 3.8%, for 2008 compared to 2007. Production costs by major expense type were as follows:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Fuel and power

   $ 110,641    $ 106,937    $ 3,704      3.5

Purchased water

     95,253      94,011      1,242      1.3

Chemicals

     50,823      45,159      5,664      12.5

Waste disposal

     31,854      31,958      (104   (0.3 )% 
                        

Total

   $ 288,571    $ 278,065    $ 10,506      3.8
                        

The increase in fuel and power costs was primarily due to higher electricity prices. Purchased water costs were higher as a result of rate increases resulting from higher costs incurred by our suppliers. The increase in chemical costs were attributable to rising prices as well as additional usage requirements related to fluctuating raw water quality caused by weather conditions in some of the states in which we operate.

Employee-related costs including wage and salary, group insurance, and pension expense increased $42.2 million, or 9.1%, for 2008 compared to 2007. These employee-related costs represented 38.8% and 37.2% of operation and maintenance expenses for 2008 and 2007, respectively.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
   Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Salaries and wages

   $ 379,509    $ 352,177    $ 27,332    7.8

Pensions

     39,315      29,984      9,331    31.1

Group insurance

     67,330      64,832      2,498    3.9

Other benefits

     19,396      16,369      3,027    18.5
                       

Total

   $ 505,550    $ 463,362    $ 42,188    9.1
                       

During 2008, salaries and wages increased $23.7 million and $5.1 million in our Regulated and Non-Regulated Businesses, respectively compared to the same period in the prior year. These increases primarily resulted from stock-based compensation expense of $3.7 million mainly attributable to the issuance of awards granted in connection with the initial public offering, $4.3 million of wages related to job reclassification of certain hourly employees for services performed and from an increase in the number of employees primarily as a result of enhancing customer service and inflationary wage rate increases. The increase in pension expense was primarily due to an increase in our Regulated Businesses’ pension expense of $9.1 million, or 25.1%, for 2008

 

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over 2007. Pension expense in excess of the amount contributed to the pension plans is deferred by certain of our regulated subsidiaries pending future recovery in rates as contributions are made to the plans. Although our pension expense calculated in accordance with authoritative guidance remained relatively unchanged, pension expense increased for 2008 due to increased contributions by certain of our regulated operating companies whose costs are recovered based on the Company’s funding policy, which is to fund at least the minimum amount required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 which we refer to as ERISA, rather than the calculated expense under the guidance. The increase in the contributions is attributable to a change in the discount rate and lower than expected returns on plan assets. Medical benefit expenses for employees increased due to an increase in the number of employees and the rising cost of health care. Other benefits increased primarily as a result of increased salaries and wages which in turn resulted in increased Company contribution to the 401(k) and defined contribution plans. Also other benefit expenses increased due to the benefit expense related to the new employee stock purchase plan.

Operating supplies and services include the day-to-day expenses of office operation, legal and other professional services, as well as information systems and other office equipment rental charges. For 2008, these costs decreased by $10.2 million, or 3.5%, compared to 2007.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Contracted services

   $ 111,847    $ 110,083    $ 1,764      1.6

Office supplies and services

     63,422      62,464      958      1.5

Transportation

     36,337      35,051      1,286      3.7

Rents

     22,543      21,985      558      2.5

Other

     49,081      63,892      (14,811   (23.2 )% 
                        

Total

   $ 283,230    $ 293,475    ($ 10,245   (3.5 )% 
                        

Contracted services increased in 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. This increase was primarily due to higher contracted services in our Contract Operations group in 2008 as compared to 2007, associated with several operating contracts (including a DBO project in Fillmore, California). Offsetting this increase were lower consulting fees associated with our remediation efforts to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. These costs decreased by $22.6 million to $9.4 million in 2008 from $32.0 million in 2007. The increase in transportation costs is primarily the result of higher diesel and gasoline prices in 2008. Other operating supplies and services were lower in 2008 as 2007 costs were higher due to a write-off of certain deferred costs totaling $1.1 million by our New Jersey subsidiary as they were no longer deemed recoverable. Additionally, our Non-Regulated Businesses recorded loss contingencies of $3.6 million in 2007. Other decreases are associated with the cost of materials primarily related to our Contract Operations Group, due to changes in project work performed.

Maintenance materials and services, which include emergency repairs as well as costs for preventive maintenance, increased $8.3 million, or by 6.5%, for 2008 compared to 2007.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
   Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Maintenance services and supplies

   $ 94,790    $ 92,041    $ 2,749    3.0

Removal costs, net

     41,515      35,975      5,540    15.4
                       

Total

   $ 136,305    $ 128,016    $ 8,289    6.5
                       

Our Regulated Businesses’ maintenance materials and service costs increased by $6.8 million in 2008 mainly due to increased costs of $1.7 million associated with a program in Illinois to maintain valves and fire

 

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hydrants, and higher cost of removal expenses of $5.5 million in certain of our operating companies, partially offset by lower paving costs of $1.4 million in our New Jersey and Missouri operating companies. The Non-Regulated Businesses’ maintenance and services expenses increased by $1.7 million as a result of higher frequency of claims, primarily resulting from the increase in the number of customer contracts, with the service line protection program in our Homeowner Services Group, as well as from increased costs associated with the Contract Operations Group mainly due to costs associated with new military operations and maintenance projects.

Customer billing and accounting expenses increased by $5.8 million, or 15.0%, for 2008 compared to 2007.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
   Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Uncollectible accounts expense

   $ 20,298    $ 16,445    $ 3,853    23.4

Postage

     11,829      10,932      897    8.2

Other

     11,885      10,879      1,006    9.2
                       

Total

   $ 44,012    $ 38,256    $ 5,756    15.0
                       

The increase was primarily the result of higher uncollectible accounts expense in our Regulated Businesses of $0.6 million and in our Non-Regulated Businesses of $3.7 million primarily due to increased uncollectible expense in the Applied Water Management Group of $1.8 million primarily due to the collection of $1.2 million in 2007 for an amount that was previously written-off as well as higher uncollectible expense in our Contract Operation Group. In addition, postage expense increased in our Regulated subsidiaries $0.9 million compared to 2007.

Other operation and maintenance expenses include casualty and liability insurance premiums and regulatory costs. These costs increased by $0.8 million, or 1.8%, for 2008 compared to 2007.

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2008    2007    Increase
(Decrease)
    Percentage  
     (in thousands)  

Insurance

   $ 33,173    $ 37,276    ($ 4,103   (11.0 )% 

Regulatory expenses

     12,957      8,029      4,928      61.4
                        

Total

   $ 46,130    $ 45,305    $ 825      1.8
                        

Insurance expense decreased due to more favorable claims experience in 2008 compared to 2007. Regulatory expenses increased primarily due to write-offs of deferred rate case expenses, primarily in Tennessee, Illinois, California, and Ohio as well as increased rate case amortization costs associated with rate cases settled in 2007.

Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $3.9 million, or 1.5%, for 2008 compared to 2007. This increase was primarily due to additional assets placed in service, mainly in our Regulated Businesses, over the last year.

General taxes. General taxes expense, which includes taxes for property, payroll, gross receipts, and other miscellaneous items, increased by $15.9 million, or 8.7%, in 2008 compared to 2007. This increase is primarily due to increased gross receipts taxes of $7.9 million primarily in New Jersey and Missouri and higher property tax expense of $4.2 million primarily in Ohio and Missouri. Additionally, payroll taxes increased by $2.7 million, due to increased salaries and wages and higher payroll tax limits.

Gain on sale of assets. The gain on sale of assets was $0.4 million for 2008 compared to a gain of $7.3 million for 2007. The gains in 2008 and 2007 are primarily attributable to non-recurring sales of assets no longer used in our operations.

 

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Impairment charge. The impairment charge was $750.0 million for 2008 compared to $509.3 million for 2007. The 2008 impairment charge was primarily due to the market price of the Company’s common stock (both the initial public offering price and the price during subsequent trading) being less than what was anticipated during our 2007 annual test. Also contributing to the impairment was a decline in the fair value of the Company’s debt (due to increased interest rates). The 2007 impairment charge to goodwill to our Regulated Businesses was primarily due to slightly lower long-term earnings forecast caused by our updated customer demand and usage expectations and expectations for timing of capital expenditures and rate recovery. See “Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Goodwill Impairment.”

Other income (deductions). Interest expense, net of interest income, the primary component of our other income (deductions), increased by $2.0 million, or 0.7%, for 2008 compared to 2007. The increase is primarily due to increased borrowings associated with capital expenditures. Offsetting the change in interest expense is an increase in AFUDC of $11.5 million for 2008 compared to 2007 as a result of increased construction activity in 2008 over 2007. Amortization of debt expense increased $1.0 million for 2008 compared to 2007 as a result of debt restructuring. Other items contributing to the change include lower miscellaneous income for 2008 compared to 2007 primarily as a result our Indiana subsidiary now accounting for certain income in operating revenues in accordance with a 2007 rate order.

Provision for income taxes. Our consolidated provision for income taxes increased $25.0 million, or 28.8%, to $111.8 million for 2008 from $86.8 million for 2007.

Net income (loss). The net loss for 2008 was $562.4 million compared to a net loss of $342.8 million for 2007. The variation between the periods is the result of the aforementioned changes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We regularly evaluate cash requirements for current operations, commitments, development activities and capital expenditures. Our business is very capital intensive and requires significant capital resources. A portion of these capital resources are provided by internally generated cash flows from operations. When necessary, we obtain additional funds from external sources in the debt and capital markets and through bank borrowings. Our access to external financing on reasonable terms depends on our credit ratings and current business conditions, including that of the water utility industry in general as well as conditions in the debt or equity capital markets. If these business and market conditions deteriorate to the extent that we no longer have access to the capital markets at reasonable terms, we have access to revolving credit facilities with aggregate bank commitments of $850.0 million. We rely on these revolving credit facilities and the capital markets to fulfill our short-term liquidity needs, to issue letters of credit and to back our commercial paper program. Disruptions in the credit markets may discourage lenders from meeting their existing lending commitments, extending the terms of such commitments or agreeing to new commitments. Market disruptions may also limit our ability to issue debt securities in the capital markets. On September 15, 2008, we sought to issue commercial paper but were unable to consummate the issuance due to adverse market conditions. In order to meet our short-term liquidity needs we borrowed under our then existing $850 million revolving credit facilities. See “—Credit Facilities and Short-Term Debt.”

AWCC had no outstanding borrowings and $50.6 million of outstanding letters of credit under its credit facilities as of December 31, 2009. As of December 31, 2009, AWCC had $799.4 million available under its credit facilities. We can provide no assurances that our lenders will meet their existing commitments or that we will be able to access the commercial paper or loan markets in the future on terms acceptable to us or at all.

In addition, our regulated operating companies receive advances and contributions from customers, home builders and real estate developers to fund construction necessary to extend service to new areas. Advances for construction are refundable for limited periods, which vary according to state regulations, as new customers begin to receive service or other contractual obligations are fulfilled. Amounts which are no longer refundable

 

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are reclassified to contributions in aid of construction. Utility plant funded by advances and contributions is excluded from the rate base. Generally, we depreciate contributed property and amortize contributions in aid of construction at the composite rate of the related property. Some of our subsidiaries do not depreciate contributed property, based on regulatory guidelines.

We use our capital resources, including cash, to (i) fund capital requirements, including construction expenditures, (ii) pay off maturing debt, (iii) pay dividends, (iv) fund pension and postretirement welfare obligations and (v) invest in new and existing ventures. We spend a significant amount of cash on construction projects that we expect to have a long-term return on investment. Additionally, we operate in rate-regulated environments in which the amount of new investment recovery may be limited, and where such recovery takes place over an extended period of time, as our recovery is subject to regulatory lag. See “Business—Regulation—Economic Regulation.” As a result of these factors, our working capital, defined as current assets less current liabilities, was in a net deficit position as of December 31, 2009. We expect to fund future maturities of long-term debt through a combination of external debt and cash flow from operations. Since we continue to make investments equal to or greater than our cash flows from operating activities, we have no plans to reduce debt significantly.

As of December 31, 2008, the Company had issued, through its subsidiaries, $120.3 million of variable rate demand bonds, which were periodically remarketed. During the months of January and February 2009, AWCC purchased these variable rate demand bonds because no investors were willing to purchase the bonds at acceptable market rates and held such bonds in treasury. As a result of these repurchases in early 2009 and prior to the release of our 2008 10-K, the debt was reflected in current portion of long-term debt in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2008. On May 21, 2009, AWCC remarketed $52.9 million of these variable rate demand notes as fixed rate Tax Exempt Water Facility Revenue bonds with interest rates ranging from 6.00% to 6.75%. The net proceeds from this offering were used to repay short-term debt. Also on May 21, 2009, AWCC remarketed $31.9 million of the variable rate notes held in the Company’s treasury and subsequently remarketed $23.3 million as fixed rate Tax Exempt Water Facility Revenue bonds in the third quarter of 2009; the residual $8.6 million remains variable rate on the open market. During the third quarter 2009, AWCC successfully remarketed $24.9 million of the variable rate demand notes as fixed rate Tax Exempt Water Facility Revenue bonds with an interest rate of 6.25%. The net proceeds from this offering were used to repay short-term debt. The remaining $10.6 million is held in the Company’s treasury at December 31, 2009. We can provide no assurances that the bonds will be remarketed successfully or at reasonable interest rates.

On February 17, 2009, the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, which we refer to as the Act, into law. As a result of the Act, we have applied and will continue as long as available to apply for subsidized financing under the Act in many of the states where we operate. During 2009, we filed applications totaling $288.3 million with state revolving loan fund agencies for either the Act or other governmental subsidized funds. To date we have been awarded $31.1 million. As of February 25, 2010, we have outstanding applications amounting to $23.4 million that can still be funded through one of these programs. Due to the demand for these funds, we believe the likelihood of being awarded these funds is low. Also during 2009, the Company issued $179.9 million of new tax-exempt rate private activity bonds, the interest on which, as a result of this Act, is not subject to the alternative minimum tax. Also, in connection with the Act, the Company has reflected the tax benefits from the extension of bonus depreciation in its 2009 results.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Cash flows from operating activities primarily result from the sale of water and wastewater services and, due to the seasonality of demand, are weighted toward the third quarter of each fiscal year. Our future cash flows from operating activities will be affected by economic utility regulation; infrastructure investment; inflation; compliance with environmental, health and safety standards; production costs; customer growth; declining per customer usage of water; and weather and seasonality. See “—Factors Affecting our Results of Operations.”

 

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Cash flows from operating activities have been a reliable, steady source of funding, sufficient to meet operating requirements, our dividend payments and a portion of our capital expenditures requirements. We will seek access to debt and equity capital markets to meet the balance of our capital expenditure requirements as needed. There can be no assurance that we will be able to access such markets successfully on favorable terms or at all. Operating cash flows can be negatively affected by changes in our rate regulatory environments or changes in our customer economic outlook and ability to pay for service in a timely manner. We can provide no assurance that our customers’ historical payment pattern will continue in the future.

The following table provides a summary of the major items affecting our cash flows from operating activities for the periods indicated:

 

     2009     2008     2007  
     (in thousands)  

Net income (loss)

   $ (233,083   $ (562,421   $ (342,826

Add (subtract):

      

Non-cash operating activities(1)

     1,016,826        1,214,120        881,013   

Changes in working capital(2)

     (60,141     5,523        16,770   

Pension and postretirement healthcare contributions

     (127,446     (105,053     (81,245
                        

Net cash flows provided by operations

   $ 596,156      $ 552,169      $ 473,712   
                        

 

(1) Includes (gain) loss on sale of businesses, depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, removal costs net of salvage, provision for deferred income taxes, amortization of deferred investment tax credits, provision for losses on utility accounts receivable, allowance for other funds used during construction, (gain) loss on sale of assets, deferred regulatory costs, amortization of deferred charges and other non-cash items, net, less pension and postretirement healthcare contributions.
(2) Changes in working capital include changes to accounts receivable and unbilled utility revenue, taxes receivable (including federal income), other current assets, accounts payable, taxes accrued (including federal income), interest accrued and other current liabilities.

The increase in cash flows from operations during 2009 compared to 2008 was primarily due to increased revenues offset by changes in working capital mainly driven by changes in taxes receivable and taxes accrued. The change in taxes is primarily due to the fact that a $35.0 million tax refund, including interest, was received in December 2008. No similar amount was received at the end of 2009.

In December 2008, the Company filed a request with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to change its tax accounting method for repair and maintenance cost on its utility assets. The IRS partially approved the request in October 2009, with the Company receiving final approval in February 2010. As a result of this change we expect to receive cash refunds of approximately $43.1 million, including a carryback claim for alternative minimum tax of $25.2 million which will be filed for in 2010.

The increase in cash flows from operations during 2008 compared to 2007 was primarily due to increased revenues partially offset by higher contributions to our pension and postretirement healthcare trusts.

The Company currently expects to make pension and postretirement benefit contributions to the plan trusts of $119.9 million in 2010, of which $22.6 was already made in February 2010. In addition, we currently estimate that contributions will amount to $147.9 million in 2011, $155.8 million in 2012, $123.8 in 2013 and $118.8 million in 2014. Actual amounts contributed could change materially from these estimates.

The increase in the 2009 contributions was the result of the Company’s 2008 unfunded status of its pension plan, which increased significantly primarily due to lower than expected 2008 asset returns. Based on the then current plan assets and expected future asset returns, the Company estimated in early 2009 the increase to pension and postretirement expense (net of capitalized amounts) in 2009 to be approximately $32 million,

 

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pre-tax. During 2009, the Company had discussions with the majority of our regulators about the appropriate treatment for these incremental costs in order to minimize regulatory lag between incurring the expense and any recovery of the expense. As a result of these discussions, we have authorization to recover or defer $10.6 million of this annual increase and have requested permission to recover or defer as a deferred asset until the next rate case is concluded an additional $6.5 million of this increase in 2009.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Cash flows used in investing activities were as follows for the periods indicated:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2008     2007  
     (in thousands)  

Net capital expenditures

   $ (785,265   $ (1,008,806   $ (750,810

Other investing activities, net(1)

     81,654        (24,861     4,232   
                        

Net cash flows used in investing activities

   $ (703,611   $ (1,033,667   $ (746,578
                        

 

(1) Includes allowances for other funds used during construction, acquisitions, proceeds from the sale of assets and securities, proceeds from the sale of discontinued operations, removal costs from property, plant and equipment retirements, receivables from affiliates, restricted funds and investment in equity investee.

Cash flows used in investing activities decreased in 2009 compared to 2008 mainly due to a decrease in capital expenditures which was primarily attributable to our decision, as a result of the 2008 credit market disruptions, to decrease in 2009 our investment in our regulated utility plant projects. Cash flows used in investing activities increased in 2008 compared to 2007 as we continued to increase our investment in regulated infrastructure projects. In 2010, we estimate that Company-funded capital investment will total between $800 million and $1 billion. We intend to invest capital prudently to provide essential services to our regulated customer base, while working with regulators in the various states in which we operate to have the opportunity to earn an appropriate rate of return on our investment and a return of our investment.

Our infrastructure investment plan consists of both infrastructure renewal programs, where we replace infrastructure as needed, and major capital investment projects, where we construct new water and wastewater treatment and delivery facilities. Our projected capital expenditures and other investments are subject to periodic review and revision to reflect changes in economic conditions and other factors.

During 2008, as part of the strategy to improve operational efficiencies, we began to evaluate our processes, including information systems associated with those processes to optimize workflow throughout our field operations, improve our back-office operations and enhance our customer service. Our information systems which support many of our processes are at the end of their useful life. Our existing systems are increasingly costly and more difficult to maintain and support since our existing vendors have issued newer versions that are not compatible with our current systems. In addition, customer expectations for service are far greater today than existed when our current systems were implemented. The lack of sufficient automation limits opportunities for our customers to conduct basic self-service tasks or for our employees to service customers effectively by obtaining appropriate information quickly and consistently from across multiple non-integrated systems.

During 2009, we embarked on a study in order to assess existing internal capabilities to satisfy customer and other stakeholder expectations. The study also included a review of currently offered technology options which could enhance and automate processes, as appropriate, to improve customer service and more efficiently comply with regulatory requirements. The evaluation was designed to identify the investments necessary to replace, upgrade, enhance and/or redesign specific business processes and applicable system components. Based on the work performed to date, we have decided to undertake a business transformation initiative (“BT”) to enhance processes and upgrade antiquated systems in order to generate efficiencies and provide more cost effective service to our customers.

 

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During the first quarter of 2010, we expect to complete the evaluation of appropriate software solutions, begin the process of selecting suitable software application(s) and a systems integrator, develop a strategy to transfer existing data to new system applications as well as start the system analysis, design and roadmap. Also, in late 2010 we expect configuration of the system applications to begin.

Current estimates indicate that BT expenditures could total as much as $280 million and span a period of approximately five years. Expenditures associated with BT are included in the $800 million to $1.0 billion capital investment spending outlined above. As with any other initiative of this magnitude, there are risks that could result in increased costs. Any technical difficulties, such as consolidating our current systems, or other difficulties in developing or implementing this initiative, such as implementing a successful change management process, may result in delays, which in turn, may increase the costs of the project and also delay any cost savings and efficiencies expected to result from the initiative. When we make adjustments to our operations, we may incur incremental expenses prior to realizing the benefits of a more efficient workforce and operating structure. While we anticipate recovery of expenditures through regulated rates, we can provide no guarantee that we will be able to achieve timely or adequate rate recovery of these increased costs associated with this transformation project. Any such delays or difficulties may have a material and adverse impact on our business, customer relationships and financial results. We believe that the goals of BT—increasing our operating efficiency and effectiveness and controlling the costs associated with the operation of our business—are important to providing the quality service to our customers and communities we serve as well as to our long-term competitiveness.

The following table provides a summary of our historical capital expenditures:

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,
     2009    2008    2007
     (in thousands)

Transmission and distribution

   $ 309,851    $ 399,597    $ 296,057

Treatment and pumping

     125,031      186,480      166,765

Services, meter and fire hydrants

     153,455      224,089      179,933

General structures and equipment

     99,280      71,146      32,336

Sources of supply

     44,127      52,392      35,135

Wastewater

     53,521      75,102      40,584
                    

Total capital expenditures

   $ 785,265    $ 1,008,806    $ 750,810
                    

Capital expenditures during the periods noted above were related to the renewal of supply and treatment assets, new water mains and customer service lines, as well as rehabilitation of existing water mains and hydrants.

Capital expenditures for 2009 decreased by $223.5 million or 22.2% from $1,008.8 million in 2008 as a result of our 2009 decision to address the credit market disruptions. Construction expenditures for 2008 increased by $258.0 million, or 34.4%, over 2007.

Expenditures related to transmission and distribution increased by $103.5 million in 2008 over 2007 and meter and fire hydrant replacements increased by $44.2 million in 2008 compared to 2007. These increases occurred due to an increase in the rate of infrastructure replacement. Treatment and pumping expenditures increased by $19.7 million in 2008 compared to 2007 as a result of significant treatment improvements in a number of states in which we operate including Kentucky, Illinois and Arizona.

On April 25, 2008, the Kentucky Public Service Commission approved Kentucky-American Water Company’s application for a certificate of convenience and necessity to construct a 20.0 million gallon per day treatment plant on the Kentucky River and a 30.6 mile pipeline to meet Central Kentucky’s water supply deficit. The Kentucky project is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 with an estimated cost of $162 million.

 

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Our construction program consists of both infrastructure renewal programs, where we replace infrastructure as needed, and construction of new water and wastewater treatment and delivery facilities to meet new customer growth and water quality regulations. An integral aspect of our strategy is to seek growth through tuck-ins and other acquisitions which are complementary to our existing business and support the continued geographical diversification and growth of our operations. Generally, acquisitions are funded initially with short-term debt and later refinanced with the proceeds from long-term debt or equity offerings.

We also conduct ongoing reviews of our existing investments. As a result of these reviews, we sold the operations of various non-regulated water-related businesses during 2007. The following provides a summary of the major acquisitions and dispositions affecting our cash flows from investing activities in the years indicated:

2009:

 

   

We paid approximately $18.1 million for seven acquisitions which consisted of six regulated water and wastewater systems and one non-regulated business, EMC.

2008:

 

   

We paid approximately $12.5 million for the acquisition of ten water and waste water systems.

 

   

We received approximately $12.6 million from the sale of other assets, which included $10.6 million in cash from the sale of the Felton water system. In September 2008, our California subsidiary completed its sale of the Felton water system to San Lorenzo Valley Water District (“SLVWD”). Under the terms of the agreement, SLVWD paid $13.4 million for the operating assets of the water system, which serves approximately 1,330 customers in Felton. The payment included a $10.6 million cash payment to California American Water and the assumption by SLVWD of $2.8 million in debt. The sale of the Felton system resulted in a loss on sale of $0.4 million.

2007:

 

   

We paid approximately $15.9 million for the acquisition of a number of water and wastewater systems, the largest of which was S.J. Services Inc., the parent company of Pennsgrove Water Supply Company, Inc. and South Jersey Water Supply Company, Inc. The purchase price, including acquisition costs, for S.J. Services Inc. was $13.5 million in cash.

 

   

We received approximately $9.7 million in cash proceeds from the sale of a group of assets of the Residuals business.

 

   

We received $16.3 million in cash proceeds from the sale of other assets, including $13.0 million of proceeds on a property in Mansfield, New Jersey owned by a Non-Regulated subsidiary.

During 2007, NJAWC entered into an agreement with the City to purchase the assets of the City’s outside water system located in four surrounding townships. The initial proposed purchase price of $100 million was subsequently amended to $75 million plus the provision of technical services by the City over seven years at a total cost to NJAWC of $5.0 million to ensure a smooth ownership transition. The amended agreement also requires NJAWC to purchase finished water from the City for a period of 20 years after closing under a water supply agreement.

Since February 2009 a small group of Petitioners has been involved in litigation with the City and NJAWC seeking to force the sale to a referendum. On December 19, 2009, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate panel published its decision unanimously upholding a March 2009 trial court decision in favor of the City. The Supreme Court has granted the Petitioners’ request for certification and oral argument is scheduled before the Supreme Court on March 22, 2010. The Company can provide no assurance as to the outcome of the litigation. The acquisition is expected to add approximately 40,000 customers to NJAWC’s customer base.

 

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Our investing activities could require considerable capital resources which we have generated through operations and attained through financing activities. We can provide no assurances that these resources will be sufficient to meet our expected investment needs and may be required to delay or reevaluate our investment plans.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Our financing activities, whose primary purpose is to fund construction expenditures, include the issuance of long-term and short-term debt, primarily through AWCC. We intend to access the capital markets on a regular basis, subject to market conditions. In addition, new infrastructure may be funded with customer advances and contributions for construction (net of refunds). This amounted to $21.2 million, $3.1 million and $35.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

On May 1, 2009, we and AWCC filed a universal shelf registration statement that enabled us to offer and sell from time to time various types of securities, including common stock, preferred stock and debt securities, all subject to market demand and ratings status. On June 10, 2009, the Company completed a public offering of 29.9 million shares of its common stock. Pursuant to the offering, the Company sold 14.5 million shares of common stock and 15.4 million shares were sold by selling stockholder, RWE.

The Company completed the sale of 14.5 million shares of common stock at $17.25 per share. The proceeds from the offering, net of underwriters’ discounts and expenses payable by the Company were $242.3 million. The proceeds from the offering were used to repay short-term debt.

At the same time, RWE completed a partial divestiture of its investment in the Company through the sale of 11.5 million shares also at a price of $17.25. RWE granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3.9 million shares of the Company’s stock at a price of $17.25. The underwriters exercised their option and purchased 3.9 million shares to cover over-allotments. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the RWE sale of the Company’s shares. Prior to the sale of these shares by RWE and the Company, RWE owned approximately 60% of the Company’s common shares. After the sales of shares and exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, RWE owned approximately 47% of the Company’s shares.

During the remainder of 2009, RWE continued to divest of its remaining investment in the Company through the sale of additional shares. In August 2009, RWE sold 40.3 million shares, including 5.3 million shares to cover the over-allotments at a price of $19.25. In November 2009, RWE sold 41.1 million shares which included 3.7 million shares to cover the over-allotments, at a price of $21.63. We did not receive any proceeds from the RWE sales of the Company’s shares. As a result of the full exercise of the underwriter’s option in November 2009, RWE became fully divested of our common stock.

In regards to debt financings, the following long-term debt was issued in 2009:

 

Company

  

Type

   Interest Rate     Maturity         Amount
(In thousands)

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.25   2039    a    $ 45,390

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.00   2018    c      18,250

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.10   2019    c      17,950

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.75   2031    c      16,700

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.25   2032    f      24,860

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    5.63   2039    a      26,000

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.25   2032    d      23,325

American Water Capital Corp.

   Private activity-fixed rate    5.25   2039    i      28,500

American Water Capital Corp.

   Senior notes-fixed rate    8.27   2039    b      25,500

American Water Capital Corp.

   Senior notes-fixed rate    7.21   2019    b      24,500

American Water Capital Corp.

   Senior notes-fixed rate    8.25   2038    b      75,000

 

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Company

  

Type

   Interest Rate     Maturity         Amount
(In thousands)

American Water Capital Corp.

   Senior notes-fixed rate    6.00   2039    b    $ 60,000

Other subsidiaries

   Private activity-fixed rate    6.20   2039    e      80,000

Other subsidiaries

   Private activity-fixed rate    1.27   2029    g      2,242

Other subsidiaries

   Private activity-fixed rate    4.14   2029    h      1,315

Other subsidiaries

   Private activity-fixed rate    5.00   2039    j      10,500

Other subsidiaries

   Private activity-fixed rate    5.70   2039    j      134,224

Other subsidiaries

   Private activity-floating rate    1.00   2015    d      8,560

Other subsidiaries

   Mortgage bonds-fixed rate    5.48   2019    b      25,000

Other subsidiaries

   Mortgage bonds-fixed rate    6.35   2039    b      75,000

Other

   Capital lease    8.82   2011         41
                 

Total issuances

              $ 722,857
                 

 

Note: Private activity type defined as private activity bonds and government funded debt.

(a) The proceeds from the bond offering was used to repay short-term debt related to the construction of a water treatment and transmission facility located in Owen County, Kentucky, as well as to pay the remaining costs of acquisition, construction, installation and equipping of the water treatment and transmission facility as the construction proceeds to completion.
(b) The proceeds were used to pay down short-term debt.
(c) On May 21, 2009, AWCC remarketed $52.9 million of variable rate demand notes as fixed rate Tax Exempt Water Facility Revenue bonds. The net proceeds from this offering was used to repay short-term debt.
(d) On May 21, 2009, AWCC successfully remarketed $31.9 million of variable rate demand notes previously held in the Company’s treasury. The new notes had an interest rate of 1.00%. The net proceeds from this offering were used to repay commercial paper. Subsequently, on August 27, 2009, AWCC remarketed the $23.3 million of the variable rate demand notes as fixed rate Tax Exempt Water Facility Revenue bonds with an interest rate of 6.25% and the remaining $8.6 million was remarketed at variable rates.
(e) On April 8, 2009, Pennsylvania-American Water Company (“PAWC”) closed an offering to issue $80.0 million in tax-exempt water facility revenue bonds through the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (“PEDFA”). The proceeds from the offering will be used to fund certain capital improvement projects. As of December 31, 2009, we have drawn down $40.7 million of these funds.
(f) On August 27, 2009, AWCC successfully remarketed $24.9 million of variable rate demand notes previously held in the Company’s treasury. The net proceeds from this offering were used to repay short-term debt.
(g) On August 26, 2009, PAWC received $2.2 million through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority for the installation of mains in the Hanover and Colliers Water System.
(h) Ohio-American Water Company received proceeds from the Ohio Water Development Authority. The proceeds will be used to fund line replacements in the Ashtabula service area.
(i) On October 1, 2009 AWCC closed an offering of $28.5 million in tax-exempt water facility revenue bonds with a 10-year call option issued by the Illinois Finance Authority. The proceeds from this offering will be used to fund certain capital improvements.
(j) On October 20, 2009, NJAWC closed an offering of tax-exempt water facility revenue bonds. The proceeds were use to pay down short-term debt.

In connection with the EMC acquisition, we assumed $4.0 million of capital lease obligations. Also, in December 2009, we refunded and reissued $93.1 million of Pennsylvania-American Water Company private activity general mortgage bonds scheduled to mature in 2032 and 2033. The bonds 3.60% fixed interest rate expired in December 2009, and the new bonds have a fixed interest rate of 5.50% with a maturity of 2039.

 

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The following long-term debt was retired through optional redemption or payment at maturity during 2009:

 

Company

 

Type

   Interest Rate    Maturity    Amount
(In thousands)

Long-term debt:

          

American Water Capital Corp.

  Floating rate    1.55%-2.20%    2018-2032    $ 86,860

American Water Capital Corp.

  Senior notes-fixed rate    6.87%-8.25%    2011-2038      28,147

Other subsidiaries

  Floating rate    1.50%-10.00%    2015-2032      33,420

Other subsidiaries

  Notes payable and other    5.76%-9.87%    2009-2013      171

Other subsidiaries

  Mortgage bonds-fixed rate    6.90%-9.22%    2009-2011      20,847

Other subsidiaries

  Private activity-fixed rate    0.00%-5.90%    2009-2034      8,505

Mandatory redeemable preferred stock

     4.60%-6.00%    2013-2019      218

Other

  Capital lease            181
              

Total retirements & redemptions

           $ 178,349
              

The following long-term debt was issued in 2008:

 

Company

 

Type

   Interest Rate   Maturity     Amount
(in thousands)

American Water Capital Corp.

  Senior notes    6.25%   2018(a)      $ 110,000

American Water Capital Corp.

  Senior notes    6.55%   2023(a)        90,000

American Water Capital Corp.

  Senior notes    10.00%   2038(a)        75,000

Other subsidiaries

 

State financing authority loans and other

   1.00%-1.39%   2024-2025 (b)      4,941
            

Total issuances

         $ 279,941
            

 

(a) Proceeds used to repay short-term debt incurred to fund capital expenditures and general working capital purposes. In addition cash equity contribution from RWE of $245.0 million was also used to repay short-term debt.
(b) The proceeds from the offering were used to fund certain capital improvement projects.

The following long-term debt and preferred stock with mandatory redemption requirements were repurchased or retired through optional redemption or payment at maturity during 2008:

 

Company

 

Type

   Interest Rate    Maturity    Amount
(in thousands)

Long-term debt:

          

American Water Capital Corp.

  Senior notes-fixed rate    6.87%    2011    $ 28,000

Other subsidiaries

  Senior notes-floating rate    6.48%-10.00%    2021-2032      144,725

Other subsidiaries

 

Subsidiary fixed rate bonds and notes

   5.05%-9.35%    2008-2029      61,065

Other subsidiaries

 

State financing authority loans and other

   0.00%-9.87%    2008-2034      10,389

Preferred stock with mandatory redemption requirements:

          

Other subsidiaries

     4.60%-6.00%    2013-2019      218
              

Total retirements & redemptions

           $ 244,397
              

 

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Other subsidiaries fixed rate bonds and notes redemptions includes $2,832 of debt assumed by the purchaser in the Felton water system asset sale.

The following long-term debt was issued in 2007:

 

Company

 

Type

  Interest Rate   Maturity     Amount
(in thousands)

American Water Capital Corp.

  RWE notes-variable rate   5.72%   2009(b)      $ 1,750,000

American Water Capital Corp.

  Senior notes   5.39%-6.59%   2018-2037 (a)      2,117,000

Other subsidiaries

 

State financing authority loans and miscellaneous

  1.00%-1.62%   2013-2025        2,109
           

Total issuances

        $ 3,869,109
           

 

(a) Senior notes issued through private placement. RWE made equity contributions to the Company amounting to $1,067.1 million during 2007. The Company used the equity contributions and proceeds from the senior notes to offset loans payable to RWE, to repay outstanding commercial paper and for other corporate purposes.
(b) Issuance of RWE redemption notes to RWE. The Company used the proceeds from the RWE redemption notes to redeem $1,750.0 million of its 5.9% mandatory redeemable preferred stock held by RWE.

In 2007, in connection with the acquisition of S.J. Services Inc, we assumed $3.5 million of long-term debt consisting of senior notes and state financing authority loans with interest rates ranging from 0.00% to 9.10% and maturities ranging from 2008 to 2025.

The following debt and preferred stock with mandatory redemption requirements were retired through extinguishments, optional redemption or payment at maturity in 2007:

 

Company

  

Type

   Interest Rate    Maturity    Amount
(in thousands)

Long-term debt:

           

American Water Capital Corp.

   Senior notes-fixed rate    6.87%    2011    $ 28,000

American Water Capital Corp.

   RWE notes-fixed rate    4.00%-6.05%    2007-2034      465,300

American Water Capital Corp.

  

RWE redemption notes-fixed rate

   5.72%    2009      1,750,000

Various Subsidiaries

   Senior notes-fixed rate    7.25%-8.75%    2007-2028      101,531

Various Subsidiaries

   Miscellaneous    0%-10.06%    2007-2034      114,340

Preferred stock with mandatory redemption requirements

           

American Water Works Company, Inc.

   RWE preferred stock-fixed rate    5.90%    2012    $ 1,750,000

Various Subsidiaries

      4.60%-8.88%    2007-2019      388
               

Total extinguishments, retirements & redemptions

            $ 4,209,559
               

From time to time and as market conditions warrant, we may engage in long-term debt retirements via tender offers, open market repurchases or other viable alternatives to strengthen our balance sheets.

 

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Credit Facilities and Short-Term Debt

The components of short-term debt were as follows:

 

     December 31,
2009
   December 31,
2008
     (in thousands)

Revolving credit line

   $ —      $ 437,000

Commercial paper, net of discount

     84,995      —  

Book-overdraft

     34,502      42,010
             

Total short-term debt

   $ 119,497    $ 479,010
             

AWCC has entered into a $10.0 million committed revolving line of credit with PNC Bank, N.A which was scheduled to terminate on December 31, 2009. On December 15, 2009, this line of credit was extended for an additional year and will terminate on December 31, 2010 unless extended. This line is used primarily for short-term working capital needs. Interest rates on advances under this line of credit are based on either the prime rate of PNC Bank, N.A. or the applicable LIBOR for the term selected plus 200 basis points for 2009 and 175 basis points for 2010. In addition, there is a fee of 25 basis points charged quarterly on the portion of the commitment that is undrawn. As of December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 there were no outstanding borrowings under this revolving line of credit. If this line of credit were not extended beyond its current maturity date of December 31, 2010, AWCC would continue to have access to its $840.0 million unsecured revolving credit facility described below.

AWCC, our finance subsidiary, has entered into an $840 million senior unsecured credit facility syndicated among the following group of 11 banks with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. acting as administrative agent.

 

Bank

   Commitment Amount
Through
September 15, 2012
   Commitment Amount
Through
September 15, 2013
     (in thousands)

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

   $ 115,000    $ 0

Citibank, N.A.

     115,000      115,000

Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania

     80,000      80,000

Credit Suisse

     80,000      80,000

William Street Commitment Corporation

     80,000      80,000

Merrill Lynch Bank USA

     80,000      80,000

Morgan Stanley Bank

     80,000      80,000

UBS Loan Finance LLC

     80,000      80,000

National City Bank

     50,000      50,000

PNC Bank, National Association

     40,000      40,000

The Bank of New York Mellon

     40,000      0
             
   $ 840,000    $ 685,000
             

This revolving credit facility, which was originally scheduled to terminate on September 15, 2011, is principally used to support the commercial paper program at AWCC and to provide up to $150.0 million in letters of credit. On September 14, 2007, this revolving credit facility was extended for an additional year by the facility bank group, making the new termination date September 15, 2012. On September 15, 2008, a majority of the banks agreed to further extend $685.0 million of commitments under this revolving credit facility to September 15, 2013. On December 18, 2008, The Bank of New York Mellon joined the credit facility syndicate with a commitment amount of $40.0 million through September 15, 2012. If any lender defaults in its obligation to fund advances, the Company may request the other lenders to assume the defaulting lender’s commitment or replace such defaulting lender by designating an assignee willing to assume the commitment. However, the

 

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remaining lenders have no obligation to assume a defaulting lender’s commitment and we can provide no assurances that we will be able to replace a defaulting lender. AWCC had no outstanding borrowings and $48.2 million of outstanding letters of credit under this credit facility as of February 24, 2010. Also, as of February 24, 2010, AWCC had $58.9 million of commercial paper outstanding.

On December 31, 2009 and 2008, AWCC had the following sub-limits and available capacity under the revolving credit facility and indicated amounts of outstanding commercial paper:

 

    Credit Facility
Commitment
  Available
Credit Facility
Capacity
  Letter of Credit
Sublimit
  Available
Letter of Credit
Capacity
  Outstanding
Commercial
Paper
(Net of Discount)
 
Credit Line
Borrowings
    (in thousands)   (in thousands)   (in thousands)   (in thousands)   (in thousands)   (in thousands)

December 31, 2009

  $ 850,000   $ 801,754   $ 150,000   $ 101,754   $ 84,995   $ —  

December 31, 2008

  $ 850,000   $ 369,097   $ 150,000   $ 106,097   $ —     $ 437,000

Interest rates on advances under the revolving credit facility are based on either prime or LIBOR plus an applicable margin based upon our credit ratings, as well as total outstanding amounts under the agreement at the time of the borrowing. The maximum LIBOR margin is 55 basis points.

The weighted average interest rate on short-term borrowings for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 was approximately 0.82% and 3.51%, respectively.

Capital Structure

Our capital structure was as follows:

 

     At
December 31,
2009
    At
December 31,
2008
    At
December 31,
2007
 

Common stockholder equity and preferred stock without mandatory redemption rights

   42   44   48

Long-term debt and redeemable preferred stock at redemption value

   56   49   49

Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt

   2   7   3
                  
   100   100   100
                  

The changes to our capital resource mix during 2008 and 2007 were accomplished through the various financing activities noted above in “Cash from Financing Activities”. The capital structure at December 31, 2009 more closely reflects our expected future capital structure.

As a condition to some PUC approvals of the RWE divestiture, we agreed to maintain a capital structure with a minimum of 45% common equity at the time of the consummation of our initial public offering on April 28, 2008. As a result of the impairment charge recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2008, our capital structure did not meet this minimum requirement and we received a cash equity contribution from RWE of $245.0 million on May 1, 2008. This cash was used to repay $243.4 million of short-term debt. Following the initial public offering, RWE was not obligated to make any additional capital contributions. Contributions from RWE were $1,067.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.

Debt Covenants

Our debt agreements contain financial and non-financial covenants. To the extent that we are not in compliance, we or our subsidiaries may be restricted in our ability to pay dividends, issue debt or access our

 

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revolving credit lines. We were in compliance with our covenants as of December 31, 2009. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry and Business—Our failure to comply with restrictive covenants under our credit facilities could trigger repayment obligations.” Long-term debt indentures contain a number of covenants that, among other things, limit, subject to certain exceptions, the Company from issuing debt secured by the Company’s assets.

The revolving credit facility requires us to maintain a ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated capitalization of not more than 0.70 to 1.00. On December 31, 2009, our ratio was 0.58 and therefore we were in compliance with the ratio.

Security Ratings

Our access to the capital markets, including the commercial paper market, and respective financing costs in those markets depend on the securities ratings of the entity that is accessing the capital markets. We primarily access the capital markets, including the commercial paper market, through AWCC. However, we do issue debt at our regulated subsidiaries, primarily in the form of tax exempt securities, to lower our overall cost of debt. The following table shows the Company’s securities ratings as of December 31, 2009:

 

Securities

   Moody’s Investors
Service
   Standard & Poor’s
Ratings Service

Senior unsecured debt

   Baa2    BBB+

Commercial paper

   P2    A2

On December 21, 2009, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which we refer to as S&P, affirmed its “BBB+” corporate credit rating on AWCC and American Water and affirmed AWCC’s “A2” short-term rating. S&P’s rating outlook for both American Water and AWCC is stable.

On November 20, 2009, Moody’s Investors Service, which we refer to as Moody’s, affirmed its “Baa2” corporate credit rating on AWCC and American Water and affirmed AWCC’s “P2” short-term rating. The rating outlook for both American Water and AWCC is stable.

A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency, and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Security ratings are highly dependent upon our ability to generate cash flows in an amount sufficient to service our debt and meet our investment plans. We can provide no assurances that our ability to generate cash flow is sufficient to maintain our existing ratings. None of our borrowings are subject to default or prepayment as a result of the downgrading of these security ratings, although such a downgrading could increase fees and interest charges under our credit facilities.

As part of the normal course of business, we routinely enter into contracts for the purchase and sale of water, energy, fuels and other services. These contracts either contain express provisions or otherwise permit us and our counterparties to demand adequate assurance of future performance when there are reasonable grounds for doing so. In accordance with the contracts and applicable contract law, if we are downgraded by a credit rating agency, especially if such downgrade is to a level below investment grade, it is possible that a counterparty would attempt to rely on such a downgrade as a basis for making a demand for adequate assurance of future performance. Depending on the Company’s net position with a counterparty, the demand could be for the posting of collateral. In the absence of expressly agreed provisions that specify the collateral that must be provided, the obligation to supply the collateral requested will be a function of the facts and circumstances of the Company’s situation at the time of the demand. If we can reasonably claim that we are willing and financially able to perform our obligations, it may be possible to argue successfully that no collateral should be posted or that only an amount equal to two or three months of future payments should be sufficient. We do not expect to post any collateral which will have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operation, financial position or cash flows.

 

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Dividends

Our board of directors has adopted a dividend policy to distribute to our stockholders a portion of our net cash provided by operating activities as regular quarterly dividends, rather than retaining that cash for other purposes. Generally, our policy is to distribute 50% to 70% of our net income annually. We expect that dividends will be paid every March, June, September and December of each fiscal year to holders of record approximately 15 days prior to the distribution date. Since the dividends on our common stock will not be cumulative, only declared dividends will be paid.

During 2009 and 2008, we paid $137.3 million and $64.1 million in dividends, respectively. For 2009, we paid a dividend of $0.21 per share on December 1, 2009 and September 1, 2009 and $0.20 per share on June 1, 2009 and March 2, 2009. For 2008, we paid a dividend of $0.20 per share on September 2, 2008 and December 1, 2008. There were no common dividend payments made for 2007.

Subject to applicable law and the discretion of our board of directors, we will pay cash dividends of approximately $0.21 per share per quarter in 2010, to be paid approximately 60 days after the end of each fiscal quarter. The quarterly and annual average aggregate dividend amounts for the four quarters would be $36.7 million, and $146.7 million annually. The aggregate dividend amounts are based upon 174.7 million shares outstanding as of February 25, 2010. Under Delaware law, our board of directors may declare dividends only to the extent of our “surplus” (which is defined as total assets at fair market value minus total liabilities, minus statutory capital) or, if there is no surplus, out of our net profits for the then current and/or immediately preceding fiscal year. Although we believe we will have sufficient net profits or surplus to pay dividends at the anticipated levels during the next four quarters, our board of directors will seek periodically to assure itself of this before actually declaring any dividends. In future periods, our board of directors may seek opinions from outside valuation firms to the effect that our solvency or assets are sufficient to allow payment of dividends, and such opinions may not be forthcoming. If we sought and were not able to obtain such an opinion, we likely would not be able to pay dividends.

On January 29, 2010, our board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.21 per share payable on March 1, 2010 to all shareholders of record as of February 18, 2010.

Current Credit Market Position

The Company believes it has sufficient liquidity should there be a disruption of the capital and credit markets. The Company funds liquidity needs for capital investment, working capital and other financial commitments through cash flows from operations, public and private debt offerings, commercial paper markets and credit facilities with $850.0 million in aggregate total commitments from a diversified group of banks. As of February 24, 2010, we had $801.8 million available to fulfill our short-term liquidity needs, to issue letters of credit and back our $58.9 million outstanding commercial paper. As of February 24, 2010, the Company can issue additional commercial paper of $641.1 million which is backed by the credit facilities. The 2008 market disruptions caused the Company to redeem its tax exempt bonds in variable rate structures and remarket as fixed rate securities. The Company closely monitors the financial condition of the financial institutions associated with its credit facilities.

At this time, the Company does not believe recent market disruptions will impact its long-term ability to obtain financing. The Company expects to have access to liquidity in the capital markets on favorable terms before the maturity dates of its current credit facilities and the Company does not expect a significant number of its lenders to default on their commitments thereunder. In addition, the Company can delay major capital investments or pursue financing from other sources to preserve liquidity, if necessary. The Company believes it can rely upon cash flows from operations to meet its obligations and fund its minimum required capital investments for an extended period of time.

 

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Regulatory Restrictions

The issuance by the Company or AWCC of long-term debt or equity securities does not require authorization of any state PUC if no guarantee or pledge of the regulated subsidiaries is utilized. However, state PUC authorization is required to issue long-term debt or equity securities at most of our regulated subsidiaries. Our regulated subsidiaries normally obtain the required approvals on a periodic basis to cover their anticipated financing needs for a period of time or in connection with a specific financing.

Under applicable law, our subsidiaries can pay dividends only from retained, undistributed or current earnings. A significant loss recorded at a subsidiary may limit the dividends that these companies can distribute to us.

Insurance Coverage

We carry various property, casualty and financial insurance policies with limits, deductibles and exclusions consistent with industry standards. However, insurance coverage may not be adequate or available to cover unanticipated losses or claims. We are self-insured to the extent that losses are within the policy deductible or exceed the amount of insurance maintained. Such losses could have a material adverse effect on our short-term and long-term financial condition and the results of operations and cash flows.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

We enter into obligations with third parties in the ordinary course of business. These financial obligations, as of December 31, 2009, are set forth in the table below:

 

Contractual obligation

   Total    Less Than
1 Year
   1-3 Years    3-5 Years    More Than
5 Years
     ($ in thousands)

Long-term debt obligations(a)

   $ 5,278,847    $ 53,242    $ 65,307    $ 117,737    $ 5,042,561

Interest on long-term debt(b)

     5,800,069      325,433      645,687      635,070      4,193,879

Capital lease obligations(c)

     5,679      608      1,310      1,092      2,669

Interest on capital lease obligations(d)

     2,387      367      605      453      962

Operating lease obligations(e)

     209,266      29,024      45,093      28,149      107,000

Purchase water obligations(f)

     741,125      50,343      91,764      89,701      509,317

Other purchase obligations(g)

     87,172      87,172      —        —        —  

Postretirement benefit plans’ obligations(h)

     179,619      38,719      75,500      65,400      —  

Pension ERISA minimum funding requirement(h)

     486,600      81,200      228,200      177,200      —  

Preferred stocks with mandatory redemption requirements

     24,207      218      945      3,434      19,610

Interest on preferred stocks with mandatory redemption requirements

     25,940      2,025      4,000      3,603      16,312

Other obligations(i)

     1,004,897      164,414      115,517      80,972      643,994
                                  

Total

   $ 13,845,808    $ 832,765    $ 1,273,928    $ 1,202,811    $ 10,536,304
                                  

Note: The above table reflects only financial obligations and commitments. Therefore, performance obligations associated with our Non-Regulated Businesses are not included in the above amounts.

 

(a) Represents sinking fund obligations and debt maturities.
(b) Represents expected interest payments on outstanding long-term debt. Amounts reported may differ from actual due to future refinancing of debt.
(c) Represents future minimum payments under noncancelable capital leases.

 

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(d) Represents expected interest payments on noncancelable capital leases.
(e) Represents future minimum payments under noncancelable operating leases, primarily for the lease of motor vehicles, buildings, land and other equipment.
(f) Represents future payments under water purchase agreements for minimum quantities of water.
(g) Represents the open purchase orders as of December 31, 2009, for goods and services purchased in the ordinary course of business.
(h) Represents contributions expected to be made to pension and post retirement benefit plans for the years 2010 through 2014.
(i) Includes an estimate of advances for construction to be refunded, capital expenditures estimated to be required under legal and binding contractual obligations, a liability associated with a conservation agreement and service agreements.

Public-Private Partnerships

West Virginia American Water Company, which we refer to as WVAWC, has entered into a series of agreements with various public entities, which we refer to as the Partners, to establish certain joint ventures, commonly referred to as “public-private partnerships.” Under the public-private partnerships, the WVAWC constructed utility plant, financed by the WVAWC, and the Partners constructed utility plant (connected to the WVAWC’s property), financed by the Partners. WVAWC agreed to transfer and convey some of its real and personal property to the Partners in exchange for an equal principal amount of Industrial Development Bonds, commonly referred to as IDBs, issued by the Partners under a state Industrial Development Bond and Commercial Development Act. WVAWC leased back the total facilities, including portions funded by both WVAWC and the Partners, under leases for a period of 40 years.

WVAWC leased back the transferred facilities under capital leases for a period of 40 years. The leases have payments that approximate the payments required by the terms of the IDBs. We have presented the transaction on a net basis in the consolidated financial statements. The carrying value of the transferred facilities was approximately $160.3 million at December 31, 2009.

Non-Regulated Businesses Performance Obligations

Our Non-Regulated Businesses Contract Operations Group enters into agreements for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities for the United States military, municipalities and other customers. These military services agreements expire between 2051 and 2060 and have remaining performance of $2,097.0 million at December 31, 2009. The Operations and Maintenance agreements with municipalities and other customers expire between 2010 and 2048 and have remaining performance commitments as measured by estimated remaining contract revenue of $1,305.0 million at December 31, 2009. Some of the Company’s long-term contracts to operate and maintain a municipality’s, federal government’s or other party’s water or wastewater treatment and delivery facilities include responsibility for certain major maintenance for some of the facilities, in exchange for an annual fee.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The application of critical accounting policies is particularly important to our financial condition and results of operations and provides a framework for management to make significant estimates, assumptions and other judgments. Although our management believes that these estimates, assumptions and other judgments are appropriate, they relate to matters that are inherently uncertain. Accordingly, changes in the estimates, assumptions and other judgments applied to these accounting policies could have a significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations as reflected in our consolidated financial statements.

Our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow are impacted by the methods, assumptions and estimates used in the application of critical accounting policies. Management believes that the areas described below require significant judgment in the application of accounting policy or in making estimates and

 

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assumptions in matters that are inherently uncertain and that may change in subsequent periods. Our management has reviewed these critical accounting policies, and the estimates and assumptions regarding them, with our audit committee. In addition, our management has also reviewed the following disclosures regarding the application of these critical accounting policies with the audit committee.

Regulatory Accounting

Our regulated utility subsidiaries are subject to regulation by state PUCs and the local governments of the states in which they operate. As such, we account for these regulated operations in accordance with authoritative guidance that requires us to reflect the effects of rate regulation in our financial statements. Use of the authoritative guidance is applicable to utility operations that meet the following criteria: (1) third-party regulation of rates; (2) cost-based rates; and (3) a reasonable assumption that all costs will be recoverable from customers through rates. As of December 31, 2009, we had concluded that the operations of our regulated subsidiaries meet the criteria. If it is concluded in a future period that a separable portion of the businesses no longer meets the criteria, we are required to eliminate the financial statement effects of regulation for that part of the business, which would include the elimination of any or all regulatory assets and liabilities that had been recorded in the consolidated financial statements. Failure to meet the criteria of the authoritative guidance could materially impact our consolidated financial statements as a one-time extraordinary item and continued impacts on our operating activities.

Regulatory assets represent costs that have been deferred to future periods when it is probable that the regulator will allow for recovery through rates charged to customers. Regulatory liabilities represent revenues received from customers to fund expected costs that have not yet been incurred. As of December 31, 2009, we have recorded $952.0 million of net regulatory assets within our consolidated financial statements. Also, at December 31, 2009, we had recorded $322.3 million of regulatory liabilities within our consolidated financial statements. See Note 7 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the significant regulatory assets and liabilities.

For each regulatory jurisdiction where we conduct business, we continually assess whether the regulatory assets and liabilities continue to meet the criteria for probable future recovery or settlement. This assessment includes consideration of factors such as changes in applicable regulatory environments, recent rate orders to other regulated entities in the same jurisdiction, the status of any pending or potential deregulation legislation and the ability to recover costs through regulated rates.

Goodwill

The Company’s annual impairment reviews are performed as of November 30 of each year, in conjunction with the timing of the completion of the Company’s annual strategic business plan. At December 31, 2009, the Company’s goodwill was $1,250.4 million. The Company also undertakes interim reviews when the Company determines that a triggering event that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value has occurred.

The Company uses a two-step impairment test to identify potential goodwill impairment and measure the amount of a goodwill impairment loss to be recognized (if any). The step 1 calculation used to identify potential impairment compares the calculated fair value for each of the Company’s reporting units to their respective net carrying values (book values), including goodwill, on the measurement date. If the fair value of any reporting unit is less than such reporting unit’s carrying value, then step 2 is performed to measure the amount of the impairment loss (if any) for such reporting unit.

The step 2 calculation of the impairment test compares, by reporting unit, the implied fair value of the goodwill to the carrying value of goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is equal to the excess of the fair value of each reporting unit above the fair value of such reporting unit’s identified assets and liabilities. If the

 

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carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill for any reporting unit, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to the excess (not to exceed the carrying value of goodwill) for that reporting unit.

The determination of the fair value of each reporting unit and the fair value of each reporting unit’s assets and liabilities is performed as of the measurement date using observable market data before and after the measurement date (if that subsequent information is relevant to the fair value on the measurement date).

For the November 30, 2009 impairment test, the estimated fair value of the Regulated reporting unit for step 1 was based on a combination of the following valuation techniques:

 

   

observable trading prices of comparable equity securities of publicly-traded water utilities considered by us to be the Company’s peers; and

 

   

discounted cash flow models developed from the Company’s internal forecasts.

The first valuation technique applies average peer multiples to the Regulated reporting unit’s historic and forecasted cash flows. The peer multiples are calculated using the average trading prices of comparable equity securities of publicly-traded water utilities, their published cash flows and forecasts of market price and cash flows for those peers.

The second valuation technique forecasts each reporting unit’s five-year cash flows using an estimated long-term growth rate and discounts these cash flows at their respective estimated weighted average cost of capital.

Because of the unique nature, small size and lack of historical earnings of most of the Non-Regulated reporting units, a market approach could not be reasonably applied. As such the estimated fair values of the Non-regulated reporting units were determined entirely on the basis of discounted cash flow models.

The Company has completed its November 30, 2009 annual impairment review and does not believe that the Company’s goodwill balance was impaired. The Company’s fair value calculated in its 2009 impairment test period was approximately 6% above the aggregate carrying value of its reporting units.

However, there can be no assurances that the Company will not be required to recognize an impairment of goodwill in the future due to market conditions or other factors related to the Company’s performance. These market events could include a decline over a period of time of the Company’s stock price, a decline over a period of time in valuation multiples of comparable water utilities, the lack of an increase in the Company’s market price consistent with its peer companies, or decreases in control premiums. A decline in the forecasted results in our business plan, such as changes in rate case results or capital investment budgets or changes in our interest rates, could also result in an impairment charge.

We also made certain assumptions, which we believe to be appropriate, that support the fair value of our reporting units. We considered, in addition to the listed trading price of the Company’s shares, the applicability of a control premium to our shares and certain other factors we deemed appropriate. As a result, we concluded that the Company’s fair value exceeds what we might otherwise have concluded had we relied on market price alone.

The difference between our calculated market capitalization (which approximates carrying value) and the aggregate fair value of our reporting units resulted from an estimated control premium. The estimated control premium represents the incremental premium a buyer is willing to pay to acquire a controlling, majority interest in the Company. In estimating the control premium, management principally considered the current market conditions and historical premiums paid in utility acquisitions observed in the marketplace.

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, the Company recorded impairment charges for goodwill in the amount of $450.0 million, $750.0 million, and $509.3 million, respectively.

 

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Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, other than goodwill which is discussed above, include land, buildings, equipment and long-term investments. Long-lived assets, other than investments and land are depreciated over their estimated useful lives, and are reviewed for impairment whenever changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. Such circumstances would include items such as a significant decrease in the market price of a long-lived asset, a significant adverse change in the manner in which the asset is being used or planned to be used or in its physical condition, or a history of operating or cash flow losses associated with the use of the asset. In addition, changes in the expected useful life of these long-lived assets may also be an impairment indicator. When such events or changes occur, we estimate the fair value of the asset from future cash flows expected to result from the use and, if applicable, the eventual disposition of the assets, and compare that to the carrying value of the asset. If the carrying value is greater than the fair value, an impairment loss is recognized equal to the amount by which the asset’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. The key variables that must be estimated include assumptions regarding sales volume, rates, operating costs, labor and other benefit costs, capital additions, assumed discount rates and other economic factors. These variables require significant management judgment and include inherent uncertainties since they are forecasting future events. A variation in the assumptions used could lead to a different conclusion regarding the realizability of an asset and, thus, could have a significant effect on the consolidated financial statements.

The long-lived assets of the regulated utility subsidiaries are grouped on a separate entity basis for impairment testing as they are integrated state-wide operations that do not have the option to curtail service and generally have uniform tariffs. A regulatory asset is charged to earnings if and when future recovery in rates of that asset is no longer probable.

The fair values of long-term investments are dependent on the financial performance and solvency of the entities in which we invest, as well as volatility inherent in the external markets. In assessing potential impairment for these investments, we consider these factors. If such assets are considered impaired, an impairment loss is recognized equal to the amount by which the asset’s carrying value exceeds its fair value.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues of the regulated utility subsidiaries are recognized as water and wastewater services are delivered to customers and include amounts billed to customers on a cycle basis and unbilled amounts based on estimated usage from the date of the latest meter reading to the end of the accounting period. Unbilled revenues as of December 31, 2009 and 2008 were $130.3 million and $134.2 million, respectively. Increases in volumes delivered to the utilities’ customers and favorable rate mix due to changes in usage patterns in customer classes in the period could be significant to the calculation of unbilled revenue. Changes in the timing of meter reading schedules and the number and type of customers scheduled for each meter reading date would also have an effect on the estimated unbilled revenue; however, since the majority of our customers are billed on a monthly basis, total operating revenues would remain materially unchanged.

Revenue from non-regulated operations is recognized as services are rendered. Revenues from certain construction projects are recognized over the contract term based on the estimated percentage of completion during the period compared to the total estimated services to be provided over the entire contract. Losses on contracts are recognized during the period in which the loss first becomes probable and estimable. Revenues recognized during the period in excess of billings on construction contracts are recorded as unbilled revenue. Billings in excess of revenues recognized on construction contracts are recorded as other current liabilities on the balance sheet until the recognition criteria are met. Changes in contract performance and related estimated contract profitability may result in revisions to costs and revenues and are recognized in the period in which revisions are determined.

 

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Accounting for Income Taxes

The parent company and its subsidiaries participate in a consolidated federal income tax return for United States tax purposes. Members of the consolidated group are charged with the amount of federal income tax expense determined as if they filed separate returns.

Certain income and expense items are accounted for in different time periods for financial reporting than for income tax reporting purposes. The Company provides deferred income taxes on the difference between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the amounts at which they are carried in the financial statements. These deferred income taxes are based on the enacted tax rates expected to be in effect when these temporary differences are projected to reverse. In addition, the regulated utility subsidiaries recognize regulatory assets and liabilities for the effect on revenues expected to be realized as the tax effects of temporary differences, previously flowed through to customers, reverse.

Accounting for Pension and Postretirement Benefits

We maintain noncontributory defined benefit pension plans covering eligible employees of our regulated utility and shared service operations. The pension plans have been closed for any employees hired on or after January 1, 2006. Union employees hired on or after January 1, 2001 and non-union employees hired on or after January 1, 2006 will be provided with a 5.25% of base pay defined contribution plan. We also maintain postretirement benefit plans for eligible retirees. The retiree welfare plans are closed for union employees hired on or after January 1, 2006. The plans had previously closed for non-union employees hired on or after January 1, 2002. See Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the accounting for the defined benefit pension plans and postretirement benefit plans.

The Company’s pension and postretirement benefit costs are developed from actuarial valuations. Inherent in these valuations are key assumptions provided by the Company to its actuaries, including the discount rate and expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. Material changes in the Company’s pension and postretirement benefit costs may occur in the future due to changes in these assumptions as well as fluctuations in plan assets. The assumptions are selected to represent the average expected experience over time and may differ in any one year from actual experience due to changes in capital markets and the overall economy. These differences will impact the amount of pension and other postretirement benefit expense that the Company recognizes. The primary assumptions are:

 

   

Discount Rate—The discount rate is used in calculating the present value of benefits, which are based on projections of benefit payments to be made in the future. The objective in selecting the discount rate is to measure the single amount that, if invested at the measurement date in a portfolio of high-quality debt instruments, would provide the necessary future cash flows to pay the accumulated benefits when due;

 

   

Expected Return on Plan Assets—Management projects the future return on plan assets considering prior performance, but primarily based upon the plans’ mix of assets and expectations for the long-term returns on those asset classes. These projected returns reduce the net benefit costs we record currently;

 

   

Rate of Compensation Increase—Management projects employees’ annual pay increases, which are used to project employees’ pension benefits at retirement; and

 

   

Health Care Cost Trend Rate—Management projects the expected increases in the cost of health care.

The discount rate is subject to change each year, consistent with changes in applicable high-quality, long-term corporate bond indices. In selecting a discount rate for our pension and postretirement benefit plans, a yield curve was developed for a portfolio containing the majority of United States-issued Aa-graded non-callable (or callable with make-whole provisions) corporate bonds. For each plan, the discount rate was developed as the level equivalent rate that would yield the same present value as using spot rates aligned with the projected benefit payments. The discount rate for determining pension benefit obligations was 5.93%, 6.12% and 6.27% at December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. The discount rate for determining other post-retirement benefit obligations was 5.82%, 6.09% and 6.20% at December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

 

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In selecting an expected return on plan assets, we considered tax implications, past performance and economic forecasts for the types of investments held by the plans. The long-term expected rate of return on plan assets, which we refer to as EROA, assumption used in calculating pension cost was 7.90% for 2009 and 2008 and 8.00% for 2007. The weighted average EROA assumption used in calculating other postretirement benefit costs was 7.60% for 2009, 7.75% for 2008 and 7.38% for 2007.

The asset allocation for the Company’s U.S. pension plan at December 31, 2009 and 2008 by asset category, are as follows:

 

     Target
Allocation
2009
    Percentage of Plan Assets
At December 31,
 

Asset category

     2009     2008  

Equity securities

   70   71   70

Fixed income

   30   29   30
                  

Total

   100   100   100
                  

The investment policy guidelines of the pension plan require that the fixed income portfolio has an overall weighted average credit rating of AA or better by Standard & Poor’s and the minimum credit quality for fixed income securities must be BBB- or better. Up to 20% of the portfolio may be invested in collateralized mortgage obligations backed by the United States Government.

The Company’s other postretirement benefit plans are partially funded. The asset allocation for the Company’s other postretirement benefit plans at December 31, 2009 and 2008, by asset category, are as follows:

 

Asset category

   Target
Allocation
2009
    Percentage of Plan Assets
At December 31,
 
     2009     2008  

Equity securities

   70   70   70

Fixed income

   30   30   30
                  

Total

   100   100   100
                  

The Company’s investment policy, and related target asset allocation, is evaluated periodically through asset liability studies. The studies consider projected cash flows of maturity liabilities, projected asset class return risk, and correlation and risk tolerance.

The pension and postretirement welfare plan trusts investments include debt and equity securities held directly and through commingled funds. The trustee for the Company’s defined benefit pension and post retirement welfare plans uses independent valuation firms to calculate the fair value of plan assets. Additionally, the company independently verifies the assets values. Approximately 87.2% of the assets are valued using the quoted market price for the assets in an active market at the measurement date. The remaining 12.8% of the assets are valued using other observable inputs.

In selecting a rate of compensation increase, we consider past experience in light of movements in inflation rates. Our rate of compensation increase was 4.00% for 2009 and 2008 and 4.25% for 2007.

In selecting health care cost trend rates, we consider past performance and forecasts of increases in health care costs. Our health care cost trend rate used to calculate the periodic cost was 8.00% in 2009 gradually declining to 5.00% in 2015 and thereafter.

 

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Assumed health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the other postretirement benefit plans. The health care cost trend rate is based on historical rates and expected market conditions. A one-percentage-point change in assumed health care cost trend rates would have the following effects:

 

Change in Actuarial Assumption

   Impact on Other
Postretirement
Benefit Obligation at
December 31, 2009
    Impact on 2009
Total Service
and
Interest Cost
Components
 
     ($ in thousands)  

Increase assumed health care cost trend by 1%

   $ 72,084      $ 6,265   

Decrease assumed health care cost trend by 1%

   $ (60,025   $ (5,167

We will use a discount rate and EROA of 5.93% and 7.90%, respectively, for estimating our 2010 pension costs. Additionally, we will use a discount rate and EROA of 5.82% and 7.60%, respectively, for estimating our 2010 other postretirement benefit costs. A decrease in the discount rate or the EROA would increase our pension expense. Our 2009 and 2008 pension and postretirement costs were $72.6 million and $51.4 million, respectively. The Company currently expects to make pension and postretirement benefit contributions to the plan trusts of $119.9 million, $147.9 million, $155.8 million, $123.8 million and $118.8 million in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. Actual amounts contributed could change significantly from these estimates.

The assumptions are reviewed annually and at any interim remeasurement of the plan obligations. The impact of assumption changes is reflected in the recorded pension and postretirement benefit amounts as they occur, or over a period of time if allowed under applicable accounting standards. As these assumptions change from period to period, recorded pension and postretirement benefit amounts and funding requirements could also change.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Fair Value Measurements

In January 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued authoritative guidance that requires new disclosures of (i) the amounts of significant transfers into and out of Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy and the reasons for those transfers and (ii) information in the reconciliation of recurring Level 3 measurements (those using significant unobservable inputs) about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements on a gross basis. This update also clarifies existing fair value disclosures about the level of disaggregation and about inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the requirement to disclose information about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the reconciliation of Level 3 measurements, which does not become effective until interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2010. As this guidance clarifies and provides for additional disclosure requirements only, the adoption of this guidance is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

In August 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying the measurement of the fair value of liabilities. The amendments reduce potential ambiguity in financial reporting when measuring the fair value of liabilities and help to improve consistency in the application of authoritative guidance. This update is effective for the first reporting period, including interim periods, beginning after issuance, which for the Company was October 1, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

In April 2009, the FASB provided additional guidance on fair value measurements in inactive markets when the volume and level of activity for the asset and liability have significantly decreased. This amendment also includes guidance on identifying circumstances that indicate a transaction is not orderly. This guidance is effective for interim reporting periods ending after June 15, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

 

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In February 2008, the FASB issued guidance that allowed a one-year deferral of adoption of the guidance for nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities (such as intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and goodwill) that are required to be measured at fair value on a periodic basis (such as at acquisition or impairment). The Company elected to use this deferral option and accordingly, adopted this guidance for the Company’s nonfinancial assets and liabilities valued on a non-recurring basis on January 1, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Accounting Standards Codification

In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that establishes the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“Codification”) as the source of authoritative U.S. GAAP recognized by the FASB to be applied by non-governmental entities. Rules and interpretive releases of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under authority of federal securities laws are also sources of authoritative GAAP for SEC registrants. All other non-grandfathered, non-SEC accounting literature not included in the Codification is non-authoritative. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities

In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that replaces the quantitative-based risk and rewards calculation for determining which reporting entity has a controlling financial interest in a variable interest entity with a qualitative approach. This revised guidance also requires additional disclosures about a reporting entity’s involvement in variable interest entities. This guidance is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2010. The Company does not expect the adoption of this update to have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows; however, due to evolving interpretations of this guidance, the Company has not fully completed its assessment.

Transfers of Financial Assets

In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends current guidance for accounting for the transfers of financial assets. Key provisions include (i) the removal of the concept of qualifying special purpose entities, (ii) the introduction of the concept of a participating interest, in which a portion of a financial asset has been transferred and (iii) the requirement that to qualify for sale accounting, the transferor must evaluate whether it maintains effective control over transferred financial assets either directly or indirectly. Further, the amendments require enhanced disclosures about the risks that a transferor continues to be exposed to because of its continuing involvement in transferred financial assets. This guidance is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2010, and is required to be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect the adoption of this update to have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Subsequent Events

In May 2009 and clarified in February 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. This standard sets forth: (i) the period after the balance sheet date during which management of a reporting entity should evaluate events or transactions, (ii) the circumstances under which an entity should recognize events or transactions and (iii) the disclosures that an entity should make about events or transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods ending after June 15, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

 

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Fair Value of Financial Instruments Disclosures

In April 2009, the FASB issued revised authoritative guidance to require disclosures about the fair value of financial instruments for interim reporting periods of publicly traded companies as well as in annual financial statements. This amendment is effective for interim reporting periods ending after June 15, 2009. In periods after initial adoption, this guidance requires comparative disclosures only for periods ending after initial adoption. As this revised guidance provides for additional disclosure requirements only, the adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Recognition and Presentation of Other-Than-Temporary Impairments

In April, 2009, the FASB amended authoritative guidance related to the impairment of certain debt securities and will require an entity to assess whether it (i) has the intent to sell the debt security or (ii) more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. If either of these conditions is met, the entity must recognize an other-than-temporary impairment. If an entity is able to meet the criteria to assert that it will not have to sell the security before recovery, impairment charges related to credit losses would be recognized in earnings, while impairment charges related to non-credit losses (for example, liquidity risk) would be reflected in other comprehensive income. The amended guidance is effective for interim reporting periods ending after June 15, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Contingencies Acquired in a Business Combination

In April 2009, the FASB amended and clarified the authoritative guidance related to accounting for the initial recognition and measurement, subsequent measurement and accounting, and related disclosures arising from contingencies in a business combination. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination that arise from contingencies should be recognized at fair value on the acquisition date if fair value can be determined during the measurement period. If fair value can not be determined, companies should account for the acquired contingencies using existing guidance. This guidance is effective for the Company for business combinations finalized after January 1, 2009.

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plan Asset Disclosures

In December 2008, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that requires additional disclosures for employers’ pension and other postretirement benefit plan assets. This guidance requires employers to disclose information about fair value measurements of plan assets, the investment policies and strategies for the major categories of plan assets, and significant concentrations of risk within plan assets. This guidance is effective for the Company as of December 31, 2009. As this guidance provides only disclosure requirements, its adoption did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements

In December 2007 and clarified in January 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying that a noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary is an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be reported as equity in the consolidated financial statements. With certain exceptions, this guidance requires that changes in a parent’s ownership interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a business or a nonprofit activity be reported as an equity transaction in the consolidated financial statements when it does not result in a change in control. When change in a parent’s ownership interest results in deconsolidation, a gain or loss should be recognized in the consolidated financial statements. This guidance was applied prospectively as of January 1, 2009, except for the presentation and disclosure requirements, which were applied retrospectively for all periods presented. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial positions; however, it could impact future transactions entered into by the Company. As a

 

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result of the adoption of this guidance, beginning in the first quarter of 2009, the Company reflects its subsidiaries’ preferred stock without mandatory redemption requirements in its consolidated financial statements within equity. The Company reclassified these preferred shares to equity within the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for all periods presented. In the Company’s 2008 Form 10-K, these preferred shares were presented as preferred stock without mandatory redemption requirements separate from equity within the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The dividends on these preferred shares have not been reflected separately on the Company’s Statements of Operations or the Company’s Statements of Comprehensive Loss, as the amounts are not considered material.

See Note 2—Significant Accounting Policies in the notes to the audited consolidated financial statements for a discussion of new accounting standards recently adopted or pending adoption.

 

ITEM 7A. QUANTITIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to market risk associated with changes in commodity prices, equity prices and interest rates. We use a combination of fixed-rate and variable-rate debt to reduce interest rate exposure. As of December 31, 2009, a hypothetical 10% increase in interest rates associated with variable-rate debt would result in a $0.9 million decrease in our pre-tax earnings. Our risks associated with price increases for chemicals, electricity and other commodities are reduced through contractual arrangements and the ability to recover price increases through rates. Non-performance by these commodity suppliers could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

Our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 23, 2008. The market price of our common stock may experience fluctuations, many of which are unrelated to our operating performance. In particular, our stock price may be affected by general market movements as well as developments specifically related to the water and wastewater industry. These could include, among other things, interest rate movements, quarterly variations or changes in financial estimates by securities analysts and governmental or regulatory actions. This volatility may make it difficult for us to access the capital markets in the future through additional offerings of our common stock, regardless of our financial performance, and such difficulty may preclude us from being able to take advantage of certain business opportunities or meet business obligations.

We are exposed to credit risk through our water, wastewater and other water-related activities for both our Regulated and Non-Regulated Businesses. Our Regulated Businesses serve residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers while our Non-Regulated Businesses engage in business activities with developers, government entities and other customers. Our primary credit risk is exposure to customer default on contractual obligations and the associated loss that may be incurred due to the non-payment of customer account receivable balances. Our credit risk is managed through established credit and collection policies which are in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and involve monitoring of customer exposure and the use of credit risk mitigation measures such as letters of credit or prepayment arrangements. Our credit portfolio is diversified with no significant customer or industry concentrations. In addition, our Regulated Businesses are generally able to recover all prudently incurred costs including uncollectible customer accounts receivable expenses and collection costs through rates.

The Company’s retirement trust assets are exposed to the market prices of debt and equity securities. Changes to the retirement trust asset value can impact the Company’s pension and other benefits expense, funded status and future minimum funding requirements. Our risk is reduced through our ability to recover pension and other benefit costs through rates. In addition, pension and other benefits liabilities decrease as fixed income asset values decrease (fixed income yields rise) since the rate at which we discount pension and other retirement trust asset future obligations is highly correlated to fixed income yields.

We are also exposed to a potential national economic recession or further deterioration in local economic conditions in the markets in which we operate. The credit quality of our customer accounts receivable is

 

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dependent on the economy and the ability of our customers to manage through unfavorable economic cycles and other market changes. In addition, as a result of the downturn in the economy and heightened sensitivity of the impact of additional rate increases on certain customers, there can be no assurances that regulators will grant sufficient rate authorizations. Therefore our ability to fully recover operating expense, recover our investment and provide an appropriate return on invested capital made in our Regulated Businesses may be adversely impacted.

 

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

 

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INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page
Number

Audited Consolidated Financial Statements

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

   87

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2009 and 2008

   88

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007

   90

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007

   91

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Common Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December  31, 2009, 2008 and 2007

   92

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December  31, 2009, 2008 and 2007

   93

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

   94

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of

American Water Works Company, Inc.

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of operations, of cash flows, of changes in common stockholders’ equity, and of comprehensive income (loss) present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of American Water Works Company, Inc. and Subsidiary Companies at December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2009 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits (which was an integrated audit in 2009). We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

March 1, 2010

 

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American Water Works Company, Inc. and Subsidiary Companies

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

     December 31,  
     2009     2008  

ASSETS

    

Property, plant and equipment

    

Utility plant—at original cost, net of accumulated depreciation of $3,168,078 in 2009 and $2,969,869 in 2008

   $ 10,523,844      $ 9,991,783   

Nonutility property, net of accumulated depreciation of $117,245 in 2009 and $101,287 in 2008

     153,549        132,145   
                

Total property, plant and equipment

     10,677,393        10,123,928   
                

Current assets

    

Cash and cash equivalents

     22,256        9,542   

Restricted funds

     41,020        454   

Utility customer accounts receivable

     149,417        149,198   

Allowance for uncollectible accounts

     (19,035     (18,644

Unbilled utility revenues

     130,262        134,204   

Non-regulated trade and other receivables, net

     75,086        68,877   

State income taxes receivable

     17,920        —     

Materials and supplies

     29,521        28,948   

Other

     52,680        45,096   
                

Total current assets

     499,127        417,675