Northbrook, Ill.-based Utilities Inc. announced Friday its intentions to buy a debt-riddled sewage district in west St. Tammany and save its customers from shouldering $3.5 million in much needed enhancement costs.

First though, the sale of Sewerage District No. 6, serving 900 customers between Abita Springs and Covington that includes the Abita Brewery along Louisiana Highway 36, must be approved by voters Oct. 4.

If approved, voters in the district who earn an average median income of roughly $17,000 per year could save themselves from rate increases up to 40 percent to cover the improvements, said Delos Williams, regional director of Louisiana operations for Utilities, Inc. As is, customers of the district, which has received numerous discharge violations from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, can’t even afford a $10 rate hike from $25 to $35 per month, the district’s board said.

With the $896,000 purchase, Utilities Inc. would offset its customers’ upgrade needs by connecting the district to its Arrowwood Wastewater Treatment Plant, 250 feet away from the district, to bypass the old plant, Williams said.

The move, if approved, would also help retired the district’s $500,000 bond debt. The district’s board would then be disbanded.

Fines levied by the DEQ for the violations would also be reduced if the sale is approved, Williams said.

“This is an important step in assisting the region with long planned consolidation efforts and improving the waterways in the St. Tammany area through environmentally responsible wastewater management,” said Larry Schumacher, president and CEO of Utilities, Inc.

Utilities, Inc. was formed in 1965 to provide developers with an alternative method to obtain water and wastewater utility service. Today, Utilities, Inc., a portfolio company of AIG Highstar Capital, through its approximately 90 subsidiaries, operates over 500 utility systems in 15 states and serves more than 300,000 customers.