Acquisition of Berwick’s water service territory is an essential step to managing the orderly development of the City.  Acquisition of the water service territory allows the City to provide water infrastructure to new growth areas that meets our standards (i.e. fire flow pressure), and is planned in a way that can support future development that is outlined in the City Council approved Ankeny 2040 Plan. 

The process for acquiring water service territory from an entity is outlined in Iowa Code, but in short, there is not one set formula prescribed for pricing.  Parties are required to negotiate the terms and conditions for the acquisition, and agreements vary in scope and pricing.  In this particular instance, staff referenced other purchase agreements from around the state of Iowa, inflation indices, as well as a past agreement between Berwick and Ankeny that was approved in 2005.  That information was then used to create deal points for a draft agreement that was shared with, and ultimately approved by the Berwick Water Association (signed April 4, 2023).  The agreement now must be considered for action by the City Council in order to proceed.

Deal points of note with the proposed agreement:

• 244 acres of property that was previously annexed by the City but still within the Berwick Water Association’s service territory will be acquired by the City at a cost of $285.00 per acre, or $69,540.  If approved, the agreement provides Ankeny with the right to serve those properties;

• Berwick Water Association retains ownership of their infrastructure and continues to serve those properties until the City extends the necessary water infrastructure to the area;
• Berwick Water Association shall not create or add new Association member to properties that have either an annexation petition on file with the City or have been formally annexed by the City;
  
  
• A five-year road map is created for service territory acquisition by the City when future properties that are presently served by Berwick Water are annexed into the City.  Year 1: $288/acre, Year 2: $291/acre, Year 3: $294/acre, Year 4: $296/acre, Year 5: $299/acre.