United Water to sell Arkansas regulated operations

   United Water (Harrington Park, NJ), the U.S. water services arm of Paris-based SUEZ Environnement, announced that has reached an agreement with Liberty Utilities Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (Oakville, Ontario), under which United Water will sell its regulated water operations in Arkansas to Liberty Utilities for $28.6 million. United Water Arkansas provides domestic water and sewer services  to about 49,000 people in the city of Pine Bluff and has bulk water sales agreements with the community of White Hall and the Hardin Water Association. The Arkansas operation has 13 wells, 388 miles of mains, and three water treatment facilities with a combined capacity of 20 million gallons per day. United Water said that the sale of the Arkansas operations, which represent less than 2% of its total revenue from regulated operations, is part of a strategy to optimize its portfolio of regulated companies and will facilitate capital re-allocation.