Suburban Water, Inc.

What Suburban Water, Inc. does

Suburban Water, Inc. is a privately owned, regulated public water utility incorporated in Kansas and headquartered in Basehor. Founded in 1985, the company delivers potable water service to 2,500+ residential homes, commercial properties, and 3 wholesale rural water districts across a 48 square mile service area in southern Leavenworth County, Kansas. The utility operates under Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) tariffs and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) oversight, holds exclusive service territory rights documented through board-approved annexations, and maintains 100% EPA reporting compliance with annual Consumer Confidence Reports testing over 80 regulated contaminants and a 5-year compliance archive.

The core operational platform is built around Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) smart meters deployed district-wide for automated meter reading and remote system monitoring, supplemented by an internal staff mobile application for work orders, field records, and meter reads, and a private Operations Portal for staff authentication. Customer-facing channels include a 24/7 emergency phone line, an epayub.com online bill payment portal (supporting one-time payment without account registration), and a website hosting service requests, service line inventory lookups, backflow test submissions, water quality reports, and a developer portal with meter applications, fire-line applications, engineering study requests, and design standards documentation.

The revenue model combines recurring monthly water charges (minimum plus consumption-based usage, billed by the 20th of each month with a 10% late penalty) with multiple one-time streams: New Service Connection Charges (scaled by meter size from $3,000 to $21,100), System Development Charges ($3,500 to $62,900), Fire Line Connection Fees ($5,500 to $15,000 plus plan review and fire-flow testing fees), a $20 transfer/set-up fee, escalating service violation penalties, and administrative fees for backflow test processing. The company is independently owned with no institutional investors, subsidiaries, or parent company, and has not raised outside funding.

Name

Suburban Water, Inc.

Legal name

Suburban Water Inc.

Website

https://suburbanwaterinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Suburban Water, Inc. is a privately owned, regulated public water utility founded in 1985 and headquartered in Basehor, Kansas, delivering water service to 2,500+ residential homes, commercial customers, and 3 rural water districts across 48 square miles in southern Leavenworth County.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Drinking Water Distribution Network Operations (Mains, Valves, Hydrants, Service Lines) (EUANAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Treated Water Storage & Pressure Management (Reservoirs, Tanks, Booster Stations) (EUANAAAD)

Keywords

• Public water utility
• Community water systems
• Water distribution services
• Advanced metering infrastructure
• Developer connection services

Headquarters

HQ city

Basehor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Water Utility Service: Monthly recurring charges for water service including minimum monthly charges and consumption-based usage fees. Customers billed monthly with payment due by the 20th of each month. 10% penalty applied for late payments.
2. New Service Connection Charges: One-time charges for new service connections covering materials (saddle, corporation stop, meter setter, meter pit, ring/lid, tap on water main, water meter) and labor. Charges vary by meter size: 5/8" meter $3,000; 1" meter $4,500; 1.5" meter $7,000; 2" meter $11,500; 3" meter $21,100.
3. System Development Charges (SDC): One-time charges paid in addition to New Service Connection Charges to compensate for investments in water supply, treatment, transmission, and distribution facilities. SDC varies by meter size: 5/8" meter $3,500; 1" meter $7,000; 1.5" meter $14,500; 2" meter $31,500; 3" meter $62,900.
4. Fire Line Connection Fees: One-time fees for private fire line connections including fire-line valve, tapping sleeve, tap, plan review fee ($450), fire-flow testing fee ($550), and connection fees varying by line size (2" $5,500; 4" $10,000; 6" $12,000; 8" $15,000). Monthly minimum meter charge applies for bypass water meter.
5. Plan Review and Fire-Flow Testing: Fees for engineering review and fire-flow testing required for fire line connections and development projects. Plan review $450; fire-flow testing $550.
6. Transfer/Set-up Fee: One-time transfer/set-up fee of $20.00 applied to first water bill for new service activation.
7. Service Violation Fee: Penalty fees for rule violations. First offense $250; subsequent offenses double the previous amount. Re-installation fee of $250 for disconnected service reconnection.
8. Backflow Test Administration: Administrative processing of certified backflow prevention device test results from commercial services, fire lines, and irrigation systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Suburban Water, Inc. is a privately owned public water utility that distributes treated drinking water through a metered pipe network to more than 2,500 homes, three rural water districts, and commercial customers across a 48-square-mile service territory in southern Leavenworth County, Kansas. The offering combines monthly metered water service, new meter and fire-line connection installations, water quality monitoring and reporting (annual Consumer Confidence Reports covering over 80 regulated contaminants), backflow test administration, and developer/contractor engineering studies and design standards aligned to KDHE requirements.

Product overview

Suburban Water, Inc. is a privately owned public water utility providing water distribution services to 2,500+ homes and 3 Rural Water Districts in Basehor and southern Leavenworth County, Kansas. The company operates a single integrated water utility platform comprising core water service delivery, AMI smart meter infrastructure for remote monitoring, customer-facing online services (bill payment, service requests), and developer/contractor services (meter applications, design standards, engineering studies, fire-line connections). The product portfolio centers on reliable water delivery with 24/7 emergency support, supplemented by regulatory compliance tools including water quality reporting, service line inventory for lead/copper compliance, and backflow test submission. Developer services include standardized meter applications (5/8" and 1" residential), fire-line applications, engineering studies, and comprehensive design standards documentation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Water Utility Service Core metered water distribution service to individual homeowners served through standard 5/8-inch or 1-inch meters, including monthly minimum charges plus usage-based consumption billing, automated AMI meter reads, 24/7 emergency dispatch, and same-day service start for most requests.
• Commercial Water Utility Service Metered water distribution service to commercial properties, scaled by meter size (1.5-inch, 2-inch, and 3-inch meters available), including monthly minimum charges plus usage-based consumption billing and 24/7 emergency dispatch.
• Start / Transfer Water Service Residential and commercial water service activation via an online application form covering applicant details, service address, occupancy, billing preferences, service dates, and electronic signature; most requests are completed the same day with a $20 transfer/set-up fee applied to the first bill.
• Stop Water Service Service disconnection request for customers moving out of the district, including scheduling of a final meter read and final bill preparation with potential credit refund.
• Online Bill Payment Service Secure billing portal delivered via epayub.com enabling customers to make one-time bill payments without creating an account, and existing customers to manage accounts, view usage, and process payments.
• Water Quality Reporting (Consumer Confidence Reports) Annual water quality reporting service publishing the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) documenting source water, treatment, and results for over 80 regulated contaminants compared against EPA and state limits, with five years of historical archives maintained for compliance.
• Service Line Inventory Lookup Address-based public lookup service for EPA Lead and Copper Rule compliance, enabling customers to identify the material classification of their service line — lead, galvanized, non-lead, or unknown — to assess lead-exposure risk.
• Backflow Test Administration Administrative processing of certified backflow prevention device test results submitted online by certified testers on behalf of commercial services, fire-line accounts, and irrigation systems, including attached signed test reports.
• New Residential Water Meter Connection (5/8-inch) Standard residential meter installation application for single-family homes served by a 5/8-inch meter on a 1-inch service line, bundled with the materials, labor, and System Development Charge for the new connection.
• New Residential Water Meter Connection (1-inch) Larger residential or small commercial meter installation application for properties with higher water demand, using a 1-inch meter on a 1-inch service, bundled with materials, labor, and the SDC.
• Fire Line Connection Private fire-line installation and approval service covering fire-sprinkler systems and private hydrants, including plan review, fire-flow testing, fire-line valve, tapping sleeve, and tap by Suburban Water, sized from 2-inch to 8-inch lines, with monthly minimum bypass-meter charges.
• Engineering Study for New Development Engineering feasibility study service evaluating available pressure, flow, storage, and routing capacity for new subdivisions or commercial sites connecting to Suburban Water's system, including engineering study deposit handling.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% EPA reporting compliance with 5-year archive
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Kansas Rural Water Association: KRWA is the statewide association serving Kansas rural water districts — directly relevant to Suburban Water's 3 wholesale rural water district customers and KDHE-aligned operating standards. It is not a competitor but is the most relevant ecosystem/membership organization for benchmarking operational practices, training, and regulatory engagement in Kansas.
• California Water Service Group: California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is an investor-owned water utility serving ~2 million people across California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. It is a broadly comparable regulated water distributor with similar regulated-rate economics, AMI modernization, and customer-base-driven revenue model, though in different state regulatory jurisdictions.

Broad incumbents

• York Water Company: York Water (NASDAQ: YORW) is the oldest investor-owned water utility in the U.S., serving ~200,000 people in south-central Pennsylvania. It is comparable as a small, geographically concentrated regulated water utility with similar residential/commercial customer mix and SDC-style connection fees.
• SJW Group: SJW Group (NYSE: SJW) is a holding company for San Jose Water and Connecticut Water, serving ~1.5 million people. Comparable as a regulated water distributor with similar tariff-based revenue and SDC structures, though SJW is meaningfully larger and operates under different state regulators.
• American Water Works Company: American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in the U.S., serving over 14 million people across 14 states. It is a broad incumbent comparable for regulated water-utility economics, AMI deployment, developer/SDC fee structures, and regulatory rate-case dynamics, though at vastly greater scale and geographic diversification than Suburban Water.
• Artesian Resources Corporation: Artesian Resources (NASDAQ: ARTNA) is a small-cap regulated water and wastewater utility serving ~300,000 people across the Delmarva Peninsula. Comparable as a small investor-owned water utility with similar tariff-based revenue, SDC, and developer services, though operating under a different state regulator.
• Middlesex Water Company: Middlesex Water (NASDAQ: MSEX) is an investor-owned water utility serving ~500,000 people in New Jersey and Delaware. It is a publicly traded, small-cap regulated water utility with similar business model — drinking water treatment, distribution, AMI metering, developer services — making it one of the closest scale analogs for valuation purposes.
• Essential Utilities: Essential Utilities (NYSE: WTRG, formerly Aqua America) is a large regulated water and natural gas utility serving ~5 million people across 10 states. Comparable as a broad incumbent regulated water distributor with similar SDC, connection-fee, and developer-service revenue models, but at much larger scale.

Regional players

• WaterOne: WaterOne is a large public water district serving Johnson County, Kansas, immediately adjacent to Suburban Water's Leavenworth County service area. It is a directly comparable regulated water utility in the same Kansas regulatory environment (KDHE / KCC-adjacent oversight) and similar product (drinking water distribution with AMI), but at significantly larger scale.
• Board of Public Utilities (BPU) Kansas City, Kansas: BPU is a municipally owned water and electric utility serving Kansas City, Kansas and surrounding areas. It is a regional Kansas water utility with overlapping service geography to Suburban Water and the same regulatory and operational profile (drinking water distribution, AMI, developer services).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/suburban-water-inc.

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Suburban Water, Inc.