Consumers Ohio Water Awarded Three-Year Contract To Serve Ashtabula County.

Business Editors

BOARDMAN, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 2003

Consumers Ohio Water Company (COWC), a subsidiary of Philadelphia Suburban Corporation (NYSE:PSC), today announced that the Ashtabula County Commissioners approved a three-year contract selecting COWC as the operator of the water system in the unincorporated areas of Ashtabula County in Northeastern Ohio. According to Louis S. Kreider, COWC vice president and division manager, COWC's professional service levels and competitive pricing helped the company secure the contract worth $700,000 over the three years with anticipated service billings that will bring the total value to approximately $1 million.

COWC sold the water infrastructure serving this area to the county in late 2002 for approximately $16 million and at that time received a short-term contract to operate the system.

"This new, long-term contract reflects the professionalism, expertise and efforts of all our employees," said COWC President Walter J. "Buzz" Pishkur. "This operating contract, along with our ownership of the Jefferson and Geneva water systems, serving two of the largest population centers in the area, identifies us as the preferred water system operator in Ashtabula County."

COWC--Ohio's largest publicly-traded water utility--serves nearly 276,000 people in 47 communities. COWC is a subsidiary of Philadelphia Suburban Corporation, the largest U.S.-based, publicly-traded water utility in the U.S. PSC provides water and wastewater services to approximately 2.5 million residents in 14 states. PSC announced earlier this year that it will change its name to Aqua America, Inc. and trade under the new ticker symbol, WTR. The name and ticker symbol change will take place at the close of the market on January 16, 2004.