A plan to have Chester fix its bankruptcy problem by selling its water assets is still in dispute, writes Anthony R. Wood for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Receiver Vijay Kapoor asked the Commonwealth Court Oct. 28 to rule on the constitutionality of a 2012 state law that took control of the Chester Water Authority away from the city government.
The water authority serves 46 towns in Delaware and Chester counties and had $51.7 million in revenues last year.
The law created a nine-member Chester Water Authority Board instead of the five-member board appointed by the city council, with only two representatives from the city of Chester.
The water authority’s attorney, Frank Catania, argued that water authority customers are being asked to bail out Chester, even though 80 percent of them live outside the city.
Kapoor also wants the judge to force the authority to explain a 14 percent water rate increase in October, which the authority blamed on bankruptcy legal fees and lower credit ratings.
“We’re a water utility,” Catania said, “and we’re also fighting a war.”
It is uncertain when the judge might rule on the filing.
Read more about the ongoing battle for control of Chester’s water assets in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on DELCO Today in November 2025.
