From February through May of 2023, the Mountain Watershed Association (“MWA”) collected responses to a public opinion survey on the potential sale of the Indian Creek Valley Water Authority to Pennsylvania American Water. The survey included reference to an informational blog written by MWA as well. Questions in the survey asked respondents to indicate whether they were on public or private water, whether they were in support of the sale or opposed to the sale and why, what their main concerns were, their opinions on a public meeting being held, and whether they live near extractive industries or not.
The survey was mailed, along with a copy of the informational blog, to a total of approximately 2,600 local residents. The mailing went out to 2,200 current customers of the Indian Creek Valley Water Authority. Additionally, MWA staff collected 400 names and addresses of residents on 17 additional roads in the area that are currently not on public water, but which have previously expressed an interest in water service being extended to their homes. This was done after receiving some community feedback in an effort to capture the views of both current and potential customers.
We provided the water authority Board and the Township Supervisors with the anonymized responses we received via email on May 19, 2023. MWA staff then presented printed materials to the Board at their monthly meeting on May 25th, and to the Township Supervisors at their monthly meetings on June 6th. There were 367 total responses included in the information provided to the Board and Township Supervisors. Charts providing the results of some of the survey questions are provided below. If you have any questions, please contact Maddie Hinkle at madison@mtwatershed.com or Stacey Magda at stacey@mtwatershed.com.
A Summary View of the Results of the Survey Are Provided Below
