Passaic Valley Water Commission

What Passaic Valley Water Commission does

Passaic Valley Water Commission (PVWC) is a public municipal water utility headquartered at 1525 Main Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1849 as Passaic Consolidated Water and reconstituted in 1927 by Act of Legislature, completing a 1930 condemnation-driven acquisition of the privately held Passaic Consolidated Water Company for approximately $13.5 million. PVWC is owned by the cities of Paterson, Clifton, and Passaic, governed by a Board of Commissioners (Paterson appoints three, Clifton and Passaic each two), and currently operates under an Interim Executive Director, Yitz Weiss, effective June 19, 2026. The organization employs more than 200 people across 80+ job classifications spanning reservoir maintenance, water treatment, laboratory operations, and pipeline installation.

PVWC's core product is high-quality drinking water supplied to approximately 800,000 people across Northern New Jersey through two channels: retail service to six municipalities (Paterson, Clifton, Passaic, Prospect Park, Lodi, and North Arlington) and wholesale supply contracts with 23 municipalities and water utilities in Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Morris Counties. Core infrastructure includes 647 miles of water mains, three uncovered finished water reservoirs (Levine, New Street, Great Notch), the Point View raw water reservoir, and the Alan C. Levine Little Falls Water Treatment Plant in Totowa, NJ, which combines high-rate sand-ballasted settling (the largest installation of its kind in North America at 2004 commissioning) with ozonation disinfection. Dual-source supply (35 MGD from the Wanaque Reservoir via NJDWSC, plus 42 MGD from PVWC's own Little Falls plant) yields 77 MGD of total average daily flow.

Revenue is generated through subscription-style water utility billing: residential customers are billed quarterly, commercial and industrial customers monthly, wholesale customers under multi-year municipal contracts, and ancillary services (meter reading, hydrant flow testing, fire-line pump services, service sizing certifications, and external laboratory analyses) are charged as transaction or professional fees. Pricing is set through an annual budget process with a 1% late-charge penalty on unpaid balances after 30 days, and bills are payable via online portal (Paymentus), 24/7 phone, in-person at Clifton headquarters, drop boxes, and mail. PVWC's infrastructure modernization agenda in 2026 centers on the Paulison Avenue Water Main Replacement Project, ongoing lead service line replacement (more than 34,800 lines replaced since the 1980s with fewer than 200 utility-owned lead lines remaining), and reservoir enclosure projects transitioning open reservoirs to covered storage to improve water quality.

Name

Passaic Valley Water Commission

Legal name

Passaic Valley Water Commission

Website

https://pvwc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1849

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Passaic Valley Water Commission is a public municipal water utility in Northern New Jersey, owned by Paterson, Clifton, and Passaic, that treats and distributes drinking water to approximately 800,000 people across six retail municipalities and 23 wholesale customers via 647 miles of water mains.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Raw Water Conveyance & Transmission (Aqueducts, Mains, Pumping Stations) (EUANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

Keywords

• Drinking water supply
• Water treatment services
• Water distribution infrastructure
• Municipal water utility
• Wholesale water supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Clifton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Water Utility Service Revenue: Revenue generated from supplying high-quality drinking water to retail customers in Paterson, Clifton, Passaic, Prospect Park, Lodi, and North Arlington, plus 23 wholesale cities where distribution is operated independently. Residential customers billed quarterly; commercial and industrial customers billed monthly.
2. Wholesale Water Supply: Water supply contracts with municipalities and water utilities in Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Morris Counties
3. Field Service Fees: Fees for services including meter reading, fire line pump services, hydrant flow tests, and service sizing certifications
4. Laboratory Service Analysis: Fees for laboratory analysis services provided to external customers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Passaic Valley Water Commission is a public municipal water utility that treats, supplies, and distributes drinking water to nearly 800,000 people across four counties in Northern New Jersey. It serves retail customers in six municipalities (Paterson, Clifton, Passaic, Prospect Park, Lodi, North Arlington) through owned distribution infrastructure, and provides wholesale water to 23 additional municipalities and water utilities. Core operations include water treatment at the Alan C. Levine Little Falls Water Treatment Plant using high-rate sand-ballasted settling and ozonation, and management of over 647 miles of water mains.

Product overview

Passaic Valley Water Commission is a public drinking water utility providing water supply, treatment, and distribution services. The organization operates the Alan C. Levine Little Falls Water Treatment Plant treating water from the Passaic River, manages over 647 miles of water mains across six municipalities, and serves nearly 800,000 people. Supporting core water services include a Lead Service Line Replacement Program, Hydrant Flushing & Valve Testing maintenance, annual Water Quality Reports, and multi-channel Customer Billing & Payment Services through an online portal. Infrastructure projects include reservoir projects replacing open reservoirs with enclosed tanks to improve water quality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drinking Water Supply Primary retail and wholesale drinking water supply service providing high-quality drinking water to nearly 800,000 people across four counties in Northern New Jersey, with dual water sources (35 MGD from Wanaque Reservoir via NJDWSC and 42 MGD from PVWC Little Falls Treatment Plant).
• Alan C. Levine Little Falls Water Treatment Plant Water treatment facility in Totowa, NJ that treats water from the Passaic River using high-rate sand-ballasted settling (largest of its kind in North America at commissioning) and ozonation disinfection, representing a modern drinking water treatment infrastructure asset.
• Water Distribution System Owned network of over 647 miles of underground pipeline delivering water to retail customers in six municipalities and providing wholesale supply across Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Morris Counties.
• Lead Service Line Replacement Program Free lead service line replacement service for customers in Passaic, Paterson, Clifton, and Prospect Park, eliminating lead contamination risk in residential water service connections.
• Hydrant Flushing and Valve Testing Recurring distribution system maintenance service that flushes hydrants and tests valves across all six member municipalities to maintain water quality and system reliability.
• Customer Billing and Payment Services Multi-channel billing and payment services including quarterly residential and monthly commercial billing, with payment options via online portal, phone, in-person, mail, and digital wallets, plus a 1% late charge on balances unpaid after 30 days.
• Water Storage Reservoir Projects Water storage infrastructure services including the Levine, New Street, Great Notch finished water reservoirs and Point View raw water reservoir, with ongoing modernization to replace open reservoirs with enclosed water storage tanks.
• Water Quality Reports Annual consumer confidence water quality reports providing PFOS advisory levels and detailed water quality data in six languages (English, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Polish, Spanish) for residential and commercial customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving citizens and industries of Northeast New Jersey since 1849 (175+ years of service)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• North Jersey District Water Supply Commission (NJDWSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1930NJDWSC treats and conveys water from the Wanaque Reservoir to PVWC, providing 35 MGD of the 77 MGD total annual average daily flow. The Wanaque Reservoir project was completed in 1930 with funding from member cities including Paterson, Passaic, and Clifton through bond issues. This partnership supplies approximately 45% of PVWC's water supply.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Water Works Company: The largest publicly traded US water and wastewater utility, serving over 14 million people across 14 states. Directly comparable to PVWC as a regulated water utility providing treatment and distribution services to residential and commercial customers, though at vastly larger scale and with broader geographic diversification.
• Veolia North America: Operates water and wastewater services for municipal and industrial clients across the US and Canada, including contract operations of municipal water systems. Comparable to PVWC in water treatment expertise, with the additional dimension of being a potential operator-services peer for municipal systems like PVWC.
• Suez Water Technologies & Solutions: Global water services provider offering treatment, network management, and digital water solutions to municipal and industrial customers. Comparable to PVWC through its regulated water operations and contract management of municipal water systems, including former US subsidiary operations under the United Water brand.
• Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America): Diversified water and natural gas utility serving ~5 million people across 10 states. Comparable to PVWC in operating regulated water treatment and distribution for residential, commercial, and industrial customers, with similar recurring subscription-style revenue mechanics.

Direct peers

• York Water Company: Investor-owned water utility serving approximately 200,000 people across 51 municipalities in Pennsylvania. Comparable to PVWC as a regulated water utility with similar multi-municipality service model, similar infrastructure-heavy operating profile, and similar mixed residential / commercial / industrial customer base.
• Middlesex Water Company: New Jersey-based regulated water utility serving approximately 500,000 people across central and southern New Jersey. Most directly comparable US peer to PVWC by virtue of shared New Jersey regulatory jurisdiction, similar customer scale, and overlapping service to New Jersey municipalities.
• SJW Group (San Jose Water): Investor-owned water utility holding companies serving approximately 1.5 million people across California, Texas, Connecticut, and Maine. Comparable to PVWC in operating regulated water utility operations with similar treatment plant infrastructure and customer-class economics.
• California Water Service Group: Investor-owned water utility serving approximately 2 million people across California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii. Comparable to PVWC in operating regulated water treatment and distribution under a multi-jurisdictional service-area model with similar regulatory and capital-intensive infrastructure dynamics.
• Artesian Resources: Delaware-based water and wastewater utility serving approximately 300,000 people across the Delmarva Peninsula. Comparable to PVWC as a regulated investor-owned water utility with similar customer scale, similar mix of retail and wholesale service, and similar treatment and distribution infrastructure model.

Others

• North Jersey District Water Supply Commission (NJDWSC): New Jersey state authority that treats and conveys water from the Wanaque Reservoir to PVWC and other member municipalities, supplying ~45% of PVWC's water. Included as a strategic-partner peer given the closely intertwined supply relationship, though structurally a partner rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PVWC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCg_2pj8UgznkUsO_Yyr1NWA
• Facebookfacebook.com/thePVWC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/passaic-valley-water-commission
• Instagraminstagram.com/passaic_valley_water

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Passaic Valley Water Commission