FERGUSON TOWNSHIP — The owner of a troubled water company in rural Center County says he wants to sell his family’s 77-year-old business, which could avoid a lengthy lawsuit by state regulators to force the sale to improve the service.

Rock Spring Water President J. Roy Campbell said he would prefer to settle the case, brought by the investigative arm of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission.

“We would like to sell it before the end of the year,” he told the judge during a pre-hearing conference on Oct. 30.

A Spotlight PA investigation in June found that Rock Spring, state regulators and elected officials failed the roughly 1,000 customers who rely on Ferguson Township’s 20-mile water system. Years of neglect have led to crumbling infrastructure, low water pressure, regular outages and sometimes lengthy boil water advisories.

The problems with the company were reported to the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, a division of the Public Utility Commission, on May 23. The unit then launched a review of the company, citing its history of regulatory violations and an ongoing legal battle with the Department. of Environmental Protection on excessive water losses.

The bureau also noted the company’s continued failures to fix the problems and pay tens of thousands of dollars in civil penalties.

An investigation to determine whether the commission should order Rock Spring to sell to another utility company “is in the public interest,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Carrie Wright wrote in the office’s Sept. 20 filing.

In its initial filing, the bureau identified five possible buyers: Aqua Pennsylvania, the private water company, Pennsylvania American Water Company and Veolia Water; and the municipally operated Huntingdon Area Water and Sewer Authority, State College Borough Water Authority.

Huntingdon Municipal Authority did not participate in the proceedings.

Veolia Water, meanwhile, asked to be dismissed from the case on the docket and during the pretrial conference, citing a lack of local infrastructure to serve Rock Spring customers. The privately held company also expressed concern about what an acquisition would mean for its existing customers — and the millions of dollars needed to make system repairs and upgrades.

Aqua noted in filings that its nearest pipelines are 50 miles away from the Rock Spring system and argued that there are other providers better situated to take over water service, but the private company has not asked to be exempt from the lawsuit formal.

The State College Authority and Pennsylvania American Water have systems near the Rock Spring service area, which could make the transition easier. Both entities have expressed interest in proceedings and discussions about a possible settlement.

Current infrastructure needs millions of dollars in repairs to improve service and meet state regulations, so cost is a factor.

A 2022 engineering report commissioned by Ferguson Township estimated that the Rock Spring system needed a $13.5 million upgrade. The municipality does not oversee Rock Spring, but local officials have tried to find ways to solve the problem on behalf of residents.

The report — prepared by Altoona-based Gwin Dobson & Foreman Engineers and obtained by Spotlight PA — identified the State College authority as “the only logical entity capable” of acquiring Rock Spring. The review also identified grant and loan programs that would help finance improvements and avoid rate increases for customers.

The water authority previously tried to negotiate a sale of Rock Spring to no avail.

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