| **Schedule 1 - Condensed Parent Company Financial Statements (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands** | 12 Months Ended |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|
||
| **Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]**                                                     |            |   |
| Dividends paid to parent by wholly-owned subsidiaries                                                         |            | $ 74,866 |
| Aqua America, Inc. [Member]                                                                                   |            |   |
| **Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]**                                                     |            |   |
| Dividends paid to parent by wholly-owned subsidiaries                                                         | $ 45,750        | 30,972 |
| Revolving credit agreement                                                                                    | 250,000         |   |
| Accounts receivable - affiliates                                                                              | 60,264          | 28,423 |
| Notes Receivable, Related Parties                                                                             | $ 345,149       | 331,604 |
| Aqua America, Inc. [Member] | Short-Term Line Of Credit [Member]                                              |            |   |
| **Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]**                                                     |            |   |
| Line of credit                                                                                                |            | $ 15,000 |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of receivables arising from transactions with related parties due within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.
+ References
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
This element represents disclosure of the aggregate cash dividends paid to the entity by consolidated subsidiaries.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (SX 210.12-04.(b)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e24072-122690Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 942 -SubTopic 235 -Section S99 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (SX 210.9-06) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6882215&loc=d3e537971-122884
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.
+ References
No definition available.
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of current borrowing capacity under the credit facility considering any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed (for example, borrowings may be limited by the amount of current assets), but without considering any amounts currently outstanding under the facility.
+ References
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.
+ References
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
For an unclassified balance sheet, amounts due from parties associated with the reporting entity as evidenced by a written promise to pay.
+ References
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| X                                                                                                                                       |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| X                                                                                                                                                  |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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