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Global Water Resources Completes Acquisition of Farmers Water Co. in Pima County, Arizona, Adding 3,300 Active Water Service Connections
PHOENIX, Feb. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: GWRS), (TSX: GWR), a pure-play water resource management company, has

About this update from Global Water Resources, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"PHOENIX, Feb. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: GWRS), (TSX: GWR), a pure-play water resource management company, has completed the previously announced acquisition of Farmers Water Co., a subsidiary of Farmers Investment Co. (FICO) located in Pima County, Arizona. The acquisition adds approximately 3,300 active water service connections and 21.5 square miles of Certificate of Convenience and Necessity service area in the Town of Sahuarita and the surrounding unincorporated area of Pima County. It has increased Global Water’s total active water service connections in Pima County to nearly 5,000. The primarily residential connections are in close proximity to the service areas of Global Water’s previously acquired Las Quintas Serenas, Francesca, Mirabell, and Red Rock water companies. These areas fall within the Arizona Sun Corridor, a megaregion that is expected to double in population by 2040. Farmers Water represents Global Water’s largest acquisition since Las Quintas Serenas in November 2021, its seventh acquisition in Pima County and the second in Sahuarita. In April 2022, Global Water announced a new public-private partnership with the Town of Sahuarita in which it committed to support the town’s growth and long-term development by providing regional water infrastructure, strategic planning and water utility expertise. Global Water plans to retain all Farmers Water employees and maintain a local customer service center. \"We welcome Farmers Water to our growing family of companies,” stated Global Water Resources president and CEO, Ron Fleming. “We see significant opportunity to make capital improvements, such as deploying the same advanced metering infrastructure or meter upgrade project we completed last quarter at Las Quintas Serenas. Through the implementation of our highly effective approach to utility consolidation, automation and water resource management, we will provide safe, high-quality water services to the community.” Global Water plans to implement its technology platform which would include upgrading Farmers Water’s customer connections from manually-read meters to smart meters—a technology Global Water has successfully deployed many times. Smart meters support greater operational efficiencies and provides real-time information to customers about their water usage, including l...