Indiana American Water announced Tuesday that they acquired the Claypool water system for $700,000.

The acquisition would add around 150 new customers from Claypool to Indiana American Water, adding to the over 400 residents that the water utility company already covers in the state.

“The acquisition of this system will help hold future rates down for Claypool customers as needed investments are made and also provides access to operations and capital management water professionals and a number of customer service options and payment methods,” said President Matt Prine in a press release. “Indiana American Water already provides water service to several nearby communities, so this is a good fit for us and a continuation of our efforts to expand our presence across Indiana.”

Indiana American Water, subsidiary of American Water and the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, was approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission this February 22nd to buy the town’s water system, then they were approved by the town of Claypool on March 28th.

The Claypool Town Council President Benny Stage said, “Claypool customers will benefit from Indiana American Water’s experience and expertise and the company’s large customer base across the state will provide much greater economies of scale and future rate stability by keeping water rates lower than they would have been as a small, stand-alone system.

“The business of providing water is getting more complicated every day, especially for smaller systems like ours that struggle with evolving regulatory issues and not having the scale to gain efficiencies in our operations,” said Stage. “The sale will also facilitate much needed improvements to the system and allow us to focus on other community needs.”