

		Weighted		Weighted
		Average		Average	Aggregate
		Exercise		Remaining	Intrinsic
	Shares	Price		Life (years)	Value
Outstanding at beginning of period	813,492	$	35.37
Granted	84,296		45.19
Forfeited	(3,695)		43.03
Expired	(125)		35.94
Exercised	(53,970)		35.37
Outstanding at end of period	839,998	$	36.33	6.5	$	4,554

Exercisable at end of period	758,766	$	35.38	6.1	$	4,554

Tabular disclosure of the changes in outstanding nonvested restricted stock shares.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NonvestedRestrictedStockSharesActivityTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of allocation of amount expensed and capitalized for award under share-based payment arrangement to statement of income or comprehensive income and statement of financial position. Includes, but is not limited to, corresponding line item in financial statement.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfEmployeeServiceShareBasedCompensationAllocationOfRecognizedPeriodCostsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the changes in outstanding nonvested performance-based units.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfNonvestedPerformanceBasedUnitsActivityTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the changes in outstanding nonvested restricted stock units.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfNonvestedRestrictedStockUnitsActivityTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the changes in outstanding nonvested shares.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfNonvestedShareActivityTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Tabular disclosure for stock option plans. Includes, but is not limited to, outstanding awards at beginning and end of year, grants, exercises, forfeitures, and weighted-average grant date fair value.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128089324&loc=d3e5070-113901

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (e)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128089324&loc=d3e5070-113901

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (c)(1)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128089324&loc=d3e5070-113901

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfShareBasedCompensationStockOptionsActivityTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant assumptions used during the year to estimate the fair value of employee stock purchase plans, including, but not limited to: (a) expected term, (b) expected volatility of the entity's shares, (c) expected dividends, (d) risk-free rate(s), and (e) discount for post-vesting restrictions.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfShareBasedPaymentAwardEmployeeStockPurchasePlanValuationAssumptionsTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- 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.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=wtrg_PerformanceShareUnitsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=us-gaap_RestrictedStockUnitsRSUMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=us-gaap_EmployeeStockOptionMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=us-gaap_RestrictedStockMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=us-gaap_StockCompensationPlanMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: