Rural Lorain County Water Authority

What Rural Lorain County Water Authority does

Rural Lorain County Water Authority (RLCWA) is a public water utility authority organized under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6119, formed in 1973 by petition of sixteen townships and two villages and finalized by judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas in April 1974. The Authority provides water distribution services to more than 25,000 customers across 685 square miles spanning seven Ohio counties (Lorain, Huron, Medina, Ashland, Erie, Cuyahoga, and Wayne), encompassing 28 townships, 6 villages, and 1 city, with approximately 25,500 active connections serving a population of roughly 78,000. It is governed by a Board of Trustees representing constituent townships and villages; the 2026 Board includes President Michael Pope, Vice-President Carl Wesemeyer, Secretary-Treasurer Bob Meilander, and General Manager Joe Waldecker.

RLCWA's operations rest on water supply agreements with three municipal sources — City of Avon Lake, Village of New London, and City of Ashland — combined with a physical distribution network of water mains, service lines, and meter pits averaging 42 inches deep for frost protection. The technical stack includes iPERL smart meters measuring in gallons, a GIS-based infrastructure management system used by Line Locators for field operations under Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS) tickets, an ArcGIS-based cross-connection survey platform (with over 3,350 on-site surveys completed via Survey123 and Experience Builder), the Notify emergency notification system capable of contacting up to 120,000 customers per hour, and the BSI Online backflow test tracking platform deployed in June 2025. The Authority also maintains a Lead Service Line Inventory to satisfy EPA Lead and Copper Rule requirements and publishes an annual Consumer Confidence Report.

RLCWA's revenue model is anchored in recurring monthly water service charges under a descending-block rate structure — 3/4-inch meter minimum $28.58/month for the first 2,000 gallons, declining to $5.00 per 1,000 gallons above 50,000 gallons — plus one-time tap installation fees ranging from $4,700 (3/4-inch) to $229,300 (6-inch), with a minimum commitment of two taps per quarter mile required for water main extensions. Supplementary recurring streams include ACH automatic payment processing and a third-party ServLine leak protection product. Go-to-market is direct and community-led: new service is acquired either through sign-up at the Lagrange, OH headquarters or via the secure online account portal, while geographic expansion depends on community-petitioned main extensions completing engineering design and Ohio EPA approval before installation (averaging 500 feet of water main per day during active construction).

Name

Rural Lorain County Water Authority

Legal name

Rural Lorain County Water Authority

Website

https://rlcwa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rural Lorain County Water Authority is a public water utility organized under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6119, distributing water to 25,000+ residential and commercial customers across 685 square miles in seven Ohio counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water & Wastewater Utility IoT (SCADA, Leak/Quality Monitoring) (EUADAPAK), Active Leak Detection & Acoustic Surveying (Ground Mics, Correlators, Hydrophones) (EUANAKAA), Water & Wastewater Compliance (NPDES/Stormwater, Pretreatment, Drinking Water/SDWA) (EUAHABAB)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Rural water distribution
• Water tap installation
• Backflow prevention
• Municipal water authority

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagrange

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Water Service Fees: Recurring monthly water service charges based on tiered consumption pricing. Rates decrease as usage increases (descending rate structure). Minimum monthly bills based on meter size.
2. Water Tap Fees: One-time fees for new water tap installation ranging from $4,700 (3/4 inch) to $229,300 (6 inch). Taps larger than 1 inch require office approval.
3. ACH Payment Processing: Automated payment program where customer payments are automatically deducted from checking or savings accounts on due date each month. Processing takes 4-6 weeks to enroll.
4. Servline Leak Protection: Optional leak protection program offered to customers through a third-party provider to cover potential water line leaks.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rural Lorain County Water Authority (RLCWA) is a public water utility authority formed in 1973 under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6119 that distributes potable water to residential and commercial customers across a seven-county service area of approximately 685 square miles in north-central Ohio. The Authority sells water service through monthly metered billing, one-time tap installation fees, and complementary programs including backflow prevention testing, lead service line inventory compliance, emergency notifications, and optional leak protection coverage.

Product overview

Rural Lorain County Water Authority operates as a water utility providing water distribution services through a single unified product offering. The core service is water distribution to residential and commercial customers across a seven-county area, complemented by several add-on modules including water tap installation, meter reading, the Notify emergency notification system, backflow prevention management, lead service line inventory compliance, annual Consumer Confidence Reports, online bill payment with ACH options, water main extension services for new development, and ServLine leak protection. These components work together as an integrated water utility system, with the core water distribution service supported by customer management, emergency communication, compliance, and payment processing capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Distribution Service Core water distribution service delivering potable water through owned infrastructure (water mains, service lines, meter pits) to residential and commercial customers across the seven-county service area of approximately 685 square miles, serving more than 25,000 customers with over 78,000 connections.
• Water Tap Installation

Quantifiable outcome

• Notify system can contact up to 120,000 customers per hour
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BSI OnlinecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2025Beginning June 2025, BSI Online tracks all backflow assembly tests, devices, and testers' credentials for RLCWA. Testers submit results through the BSI Online portal and receive notifications when tests are due.
• City of Avon LakecoreOthersRLCWA purchases water from City of Avon Lake as one of its primary water sources for distribution to customers in the service area.
• Village of New LondoncoreOthersRLCWA purchases water from Village of New London as one of its regional water sources serving the service territory.
• City of AshlandcoreOthersRLCWA purchases water from City of Ashland as one of its water sources for distribution to customers.
• Notify SystemcoreTechnology or IntegrationNotify is a computerized emergency notification system provider used by RLCWA to contact up to 120,000 customers per hour via phone, text, and email during water emergencies.
• ArcGIS (Esri)coreTechnology or IntegrationRLCWA uses ArcGIS platform for cross-connection control surveys and lead service line inventory mapping. Survey123 and Experience Builder applications used for customer-facing data collection.
• City of Elyria Water DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint educational backflow prevention video 'When Water Runs The Wrong Way' created with City of Elyria water departments, aired on local cable stations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cleveland Water: Cleveland Water (CWD) is a large municipal water utility serving the City of Cleveland and many surrounding suburbs in Northeast Ohio. It is comparable to RLCWA as an Ohio-based water provider and a source-region utility (Lake Erie), though at materially greater scale.
• City of Columbus Division of Water: The City of Columbus Division of Water is a large municipal water utility serving central Ohio. It is comparable to RLCWA as an Ohio-based water provider, though at significantly greater scale and with a more urban customer profile.
• Consumers Energy: Consumers Energy is a Michigan-based investor-owned utility providing electric and natural gas service; while not a direct water peer, it offers a comparable regulated-utility benchmark for valuing Ohio-adjacent public-authority rate bases and infrastructure investments.
• Detroit Water and Sewerage Department: Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is a large municipal water and wastewater utility serving Detroit and surrounding counties, including through wholesale contracts. It is comparable to RLCWA as a regional water provider, though materially larger in scale and capital base.

Direct peers

• Ohio American Water: Ohio American Water is a subsidiary of American Water Works Company serving residential and commercial water customers across Ohio. It is comparable to RLCWA as a regulated water utility operating in Ohio with similar customer profiles and service-area expansion models.
• Erie County Water Authority: Erie County Water Authority (NY) is a public water authority serving customers across Erie County, New York, with a similarly broad suburban/rural mix. It is comparable to RLCWA in governance structure (public authority), service model (direct water distribution), and customer scale.
• Aqua Ohio: Aqua Ohio (subsidiary of Essential Utilities) is an investor-owned water and wastewater utility serving customers across Ohio, including rural and suburban communities. It is a direct comparable to RLCWA in terms of geographic market (Ohio), customer base (residential/commercial water service), and regulatory framework, though it is privately owned and operates across a broader footprint.
• Suburban Water Authority of Pittsburgh: The Suburban Water Authority of Pittsburgh is a public water authority providing wholesale water to suburban communities in Allegheny County, PA. It is comparable to RLCWA in public-authority governance and wholesale-to-municipal distribution model, though it is a wholesale-only entity.

Regional players

• Aqua Pennsylvania: Aqua Pennsylvania (also under Essential Utilities) serves residential and commercial water customers across rural and suburban Pennsylvania. It is comparable to RLCWA in rural water-distribution profile and customer mix, though it operates in a different geography.
• Village of New London Utilities: Village of New London Utilities is one of RLCWA's wholesale water suppliers and a small municipal water system in Huron County, Ohio. It is comparable to RLCWA as a small Ohio water provider, though it operates at a much smaller scale and serves primarily a single village footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Rural Lorain County Water Authority