Chester receiver challenges Water Authority's 14% rate hike, seeks audit and public hearings

Vijay Kapoor, the city receiver for Chester, said at the Municipal Financial Recovery Advisory Committee meeting Oct. 14 that the Chester Water Authority announced an emergency 14% rate increase in a letter to customers and by email and that the increase would be effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Kapoor said CWA's public letter blamed the receivership and the city for uncertainty that, the authority said, prompted Moody's to downgrade CWA’s rating and forced it to turn to a specialty lender at higher rates. Quoting the letter, Kapoor said it included language that "over 80% of CWA's customers live outside the city of Chester, but all ratepayers are and will continue to be affected by the city's actions... your ongoing expense," a characterization he described as inflammatory and stigmatizing to Chester residents.

The receiver disputed CWA's framing. He told the committee that Moody's specifically cited a decline in debt service coverage and liquidity after a contraction in usage by a major wholesale customer and that much of that…