<PAGE>

     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 8, 1994
                                                                          
                                                  Registration No. 33-
==============================================================================

                    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                         Washington, DC 20549
 
                                FORM S-8
                         REGISTRATION STATEMENT 
                                 Under
                       THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
 
                    PHILADELPHIA SUBURBAN CORPORATION
            (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)
 
          Pennsylvania                           23-1702594
(State or other jurisdiction of      (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
  incorporation organization)

                          762 Lancaster Avenue
                          Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 
                             (215) 527-8000
          (Address, including zip code, and telephone number,
     including area code of registrant's principal executive offices)

                    1994 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                        (Full title of the plans)
 
                              ROY H. STAHL
                    Philadelphia Suburban Corporation
                Senior Vice President and General Counsel
                         762 Lancaster Avenue
                         Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
                            (215) 527-8000
         (Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number,
                including area code, of agent for service)
 
                               Copy to:
                         N. Jeffrey Klauder
                       Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 
                        2000 One Logan Square
                       Philadelphia, PA 19103
                           (215) 963-5694
 
                    CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
=============================================================================================
<CAPTION>
Title of securities   Amount to be   Proposed maximum   Proposed maximum     Amount of
to be registered      registered     offering price     aggregate offering   registration fee
                                     per share(2)       price(2)
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                   <C>            <C>                <C>                  <C>
Common Stock,         300,000        $18.17             $5,451,000           $1,880
par value 
$.50 per share(1)
=============================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1) Includes associated purchase rights.

(2) Estimated pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (h) of Rule 457 solely for the 
    purpose of calculating the registration fee, based upon the average of the 
    reported high and low sales prices of shares of Common Stock on March 3
    1994, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.
<PAGE>
                                   PART II
 
             INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
 
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
 
     The following documents, as filed by Philadelphia Suburban Corporation 
(the 'Company') with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are incorporated 
by reference in this Registration Statement and made a part hereof:

          (a) The Company's latest annual report, filed pursuant to
     Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
     'Exchange  Act');
 
          (b) All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or
     15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered
     by the annual report referred to in (a) above.

          (c) The description of the Common Stock of the Company
     contained in a registration statement filed under the Exchange
     Act, including any amendments or report filed for the purpose of
     updating such description.
 
     All reports and other documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant
to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing 
of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered hereby 
have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall 
be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be part hereof from the 
date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in any document, all 
or a portion of which is incorporated by reference herein, shall be deemed to 
be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the 
extent that a statement contained or incorporated by reference herein modifies 
or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall 
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of 
this Registration Statement.
 
Item 4. Description of Securities.
 
     Not applicable.
 
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
 
     Not applicable.
 
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
 
     Sections 1741 and 1742 of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of
1988, as amended (the 'BCL'), provide that a business corporation may indemnify
directors and officers against liabilities they may incur as such provided that
the particular person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably
believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation,
and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe
his or her conduct was unlawful. In general, the power to indemnify under these
sections does not exist in the case of actions against a director or officer by
or in the right of the corporation if the person otherwise entitled to
indemnification shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless
it is judicially determined that, despite the adjudication of liability but in
view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably
entitled to indemnification for specified expenses. The corporation is required
to indemnify directors and officers against expenses they may incur in defending
actions against them in such capacities if they are successful on the merits or
otherwise in the defense of such actions.
 
     Section 1713 of the BCL permits the shareholders to adopt a bylaw provision
relieving a director (but not an officer) of personal liability for monetary
damages except where (i) the director has breached the applicable standard of
care, and (ii) such conduct constitutes self-dealing, willful misconduct or
recklessness. The statute provides that a director may not be relieved of
liability for the payment of taxes pursuant to any federal, state or local law
or responsibility under a criminal statute. Section 4.01 of the Company's 
Bylaws limits the liability of any director of the Company to the fullest 
extent permitted by Section 1713 of the BCL.
 
     Section 1746 of the BCL grants a corporation broad authority to indemnify
its directors, officers and other agents for liabilities and expenses incurred
in such capacity, except in circumstances where the act or failure to act giving
rise to the claim for indemnification is determined by a court to have
constituted willful misconduct or recklessness. Article VII of the Company's
Bylaws provides indemnification of directors, officers and other agents of the
Company to the extent not otherwise permitted by Section 1741 of the BCL and
pursuant to the authority of Section 1746 of the BCL.
 
     Article VII of the Company's Bylaws provides, except as expressly 
prohibited by law, an unconditional right to indemnification for expenses and 
any liability paid or incurred by any director or officer of the Company, or 
any other person designated by the Board of Directors as an indemnified 
representative, in connection with any actual or threatened claim, action, 
suit or proceeding (including derivative suits) in which he or she may be 
involved by reason of being or having been a director, officer, employee or 
agent of the Company or, at the request of the Company, of another corporation, 
partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other entity. The 
Bylaws specifically authorize indemnification against both judgments and 
amounts paid in settlement of derivative suits, unlike Section 1742 of the BCL 
which authorized indemnification only of expenses incurred in defending a 
derivative action. Article VII of the Bylaws also allows indemnification for 
punitive damages and liabilities incurred under the federal securities laws.
 
     Unlike the provisions of BCL Sections 1741 and 1742, Article VII does not
require the Company to determine the availability of indemnification by the
procedures or the standard of conduct specified in Sections 1741 and 1742 of the
BCL. A person who has incurred an indemnifiable expense or liability has a right
to be indemnified independent of any procedures or determinations that would
otherwise be required, and that right is enforceable against the Company as long
as indemnification is not prohibited by law. To the extent indemnification is
permitted only for a portion of a liability, the Bylaw provisions require the
Company to indemnify such portion. If the indemnification provided for in
Article VII is unavailable for any reason in respect of any liability or portion
thereof, the Bylaws require the Company to make a contribution toward the
liability. Indemnification rights under the Bylaws do not depend upon the
approval of any future Board of Directors.
 
     Section 7.04 of the Company's Bylaws also authorizes the Company to further
effect or secure its indemnification obligations by entering into
indemnification agreements, maintaining insurance, creating a trust fund,
granting a security interest in its assets or property, establishing a letter of
credit, or using any other means that may be available from time to time.
 
     The Company maintains, on behalf of its directors and officers, insurance
protection against certain liabilities arising out of the discharge of their
duties, as well as insurance covering the Company for indemnification payments
made to its directors and officers for certain liabilities. The premiums for
such insurance are paid by the Company.
 
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
 
     Not applicable.
 
Item 8. Exhibits.

     The following is a list of exhibits filed as part of this registration
statement.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit Number     Exhibit
<S>                <C> 
 5.1               Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
23.1               Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick 
23.2               Consent of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 
                   (included as part of Exhibit 5.1)
24.1               Power of Attorney
                   (included as part of the signature page)
</TABLE>
 
Item 9. Undertakings.
 
     (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
 
          (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
     made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
 
               (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3)
          of the Securities Act of 1933;
 
               (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
          arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or
          the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
          individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
          in the information set forth in the registration statement; and
 
               (iii) To include any material information with respect to
          the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
          registration statement or any material change to such information
          in the registration statement;
 
          Provided, however, that subparagraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this
     section do not apply if the information required to be included in a
     post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic
     reports filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
     Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the
     registration statement.
 
          (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
     Securities Act of 1933 (the 'Securities Act'), each such post-effective 
     amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to 
     the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at 
     that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
          (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
     any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at the
     termination of the offering.
 
     (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for the purpose 
of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Company's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of a plan's annual report 
pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by 
reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be a new 
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein and the 
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial 
bona fide offering thereof.
 
     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of
the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for 
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the 
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling 
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or 
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in 
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless 
in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling 
precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether
such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 
Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
<PAGE> 
                                  SIGNATURES
 
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Company
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Bryn Mawr, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on this 1st
day of March, 1994.
 
                                     PHILADELPHIA SUBURBAN CORPORATION
 
                                     By: /s/ Nicholas DeBenedictis 
                                         Nicholas DeBenedictis
                                         Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed below by or on behalf of the following
persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
 
     Each person, in so signing, also makes, constitutes and appoints Roy H.
Stahl and Michael P. Graham, and each of such officers acting singly, his true
and lawful attorney-in-fact, in his name, place and stead to execute and cause
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission any or all amendments to
this Registration Statement, with all exhibits and any and all documents
required to be filed with respect thereto, and to do and perform each and every
act and thing necessary to effectuate the same.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Signature                              Title                     Date
<S>                         <C>                                  <C>
/s/ Nicholas DeBenedictis   Director, Chairman and Chief         March 1, 1994
    Nicholas DeBenedictis   Executive Officer (Principal   
                            Executive Officer)

/s/ Michael P. Graham       Senior Vice President -- Finance     March 1, 1994
    Michael P. Graham       and Treasurer (Principal
                            Financial and Accounting Officer)

                            Director                             March 1, 1994
    John H. Austin, Jr.

/s/ G. Fred DiBona, Jr.     Director                             March 1, 1994
    G. Fred DiBona, Jr.

/s/ John W. Boyer, Jr.      Director                             March 1, 1994
    John W. Boyer, Jr.

/s/ Mary C. Carroll         Director                             March 1, 1994
    Mary C. Carroll

/s/ Claudio Elia            Director                             March 1, 1994
    Claudio Elia

/s/ Joseph C. Ladd          Director                             March 1, 1994
    Joseph C. Ladd

/s/ John F. McCaughan       Director                             March 1, 1994
    John F. McCaughan

/s/ Harvey J. Wilson        Director                             March 1, 1994
    Harvey J. Wilson
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
 
                                   INDEX TO EXHIBITS
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit
Number     Exhibit
<S>        <C> 
 5.1       Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
 
23.1       Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick
 
23.2       Consent of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (included as part of Exhibit 5.1)
 
24.1       Power of Attorney (included as part of the signature page)
</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 17916}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "PHILADELPHIA SUBURBAN CORP", "cik": "0000078128", "assigned-sic": "4941", "irs-number": "231702594", "state-of-incorporation": "PA", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "033-52557", "film-number": "94514979"}, "business-address": {"street1": "762 LANCASTER AVE", "city": "BRYN MAWR", "state": "PA", "zip": "19010", "phone": "2155278000"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 8, 1994
                                                                          
                                                  Registration No. 33-
==============================================================================

                    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                         Washington, DC 20549
 
                                FORM S-8
                         REGISTRATION STATEMENT 
                                 Under
                       THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
 
                    PHILADELPHIA SUBURBAN CORPORATION
            (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)
 
          Pennsylvania                           23-1702594
(State or other jurisdiction of      (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
  incorporation organization)

                          762 Lancaster Avenue
                          Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 
                             (215) 527-8000
          (Address, including zip code, and telephone number,
     including area code of registrant's principal executive offices)

                    1994 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                        (Full title of the plans)
 
                              ROY H. STAHL
                    Philadelphia Suburban Corporation
                Senior Vice President and General Counsel
                         762 Lancaster Avenue
                         Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
                            (215) 527-8000
         (Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number,
                including area code, of agent for service)
 
                               Copy to:
                         N. Jeffrey Klauder
                       Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 
                        2000 One Logan Square
                       Philadelphia, PA 19103
                           (215) 963-5694
 
                    CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

=============================================================================================
Title of securities   Amount to be   Proposed maximum   Proposed maximum     Amount of
to be registered      registered     offering price     aggregate offering   registration fee
                                     per share(2)       price(2)
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock,         300,000        $18.17             $5,451,000           $1,880
par value 
$.50 per share(1)
=============================================================================================
(1) Includes associated purchase rights.

(2) Estimated pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (h) of Rule 457 solely for the 
    purpose of calculating the registration fee, based upon the average of the 
    reported high and low sales prices of shares of Common Stock on March 3
    1994, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.
PART II
 
             INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
 
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
 
     The following documents, as filed by Philadelphia Suburban Corporation 
(the 'Company') with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are incorporated 
by reference in this Registration Statement and made a part hereof:

          (a) The Company's latest annual report, filed pursuant to
     Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
     'Exchange  Act');
 
          (b) All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or
     15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered
     by the annual report referred to in (a) above.

          (c) The description of the Common Stock of the Company
     contained in a registration statement filed under the Exchange
     Act, including any amendments or report filed for the purpose of
     updating such description.
 
     All reports and other documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant
to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing 
of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered hereby 
have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall 
be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be part hereof from the 
date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in any document, all 
or a portion of which is incorporated by reference herein, shall be deemed to 
be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the 
extent that a statement contained or incorporated by reference herein modifies 
or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall 
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of 
this Registration Statement.
 
Item 4. Description of Securities.
 
     Not applicable.
 
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
 
     Not applicable.
 
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
 
     Sections 1741 and 1742 of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of
1988, as amended (the 'BCL'), provide that a business corporation may indemnify
directors and officers against liabilities they may incur as such provided that
the particular person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably
believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation,
and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe
his or her conduct was unlawful. In general, the power to indemnify under these
sections does not exist in the case of actions against a director or officer by
or in the right of the corporation if the person otherwise entitled to
indemnification shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless
it is judicially determined that, despite the adjudication of liability but in
view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably
entitled to indemnification for specified expenses. The corporation is required
to indemnify directors and officers against expenses they may incur in defending
actions against them in such capacities if they are successful on the merits or
otherwise in the defense of such actions.
 
     Section 1713 of the BCL permits the shareholders to adopt a bylaw provision
relieving a director (but not an officer) of personal liability for monetary
damages except where (i) the director has breached the applicable standard of
care, and (ii) such conduct constitutes self-dealing, willful misconduct or
recklessness. The statute provides that a director may not be relieved of
liability for the payment of taxes pursuant to any federal, state or local law
or responsibility under a criminal statute. Section 4.01 of the Company's 
Bylaws limits the liability of any director of the Company to the fullest 
extent permitted by Section 1713 of the BCL.
 
     Section 1746 of the BCL grants a corporation broad authority to indemnify
its directors, officers and other agents for liabilities and expenses incurred
in such capacity, except in circumstances where the act or failure to act giving
rise to the claim for indemnification is determined by a court to have
constituted willful misconduct or recklessness. Article VII of the Company's
Bylaws provides indemnification of directors, officers and other agents of the
Company to the extent not otherwise permitted by Section 1741 of the BCL and
pursuant to the authority of Section 1746 of the BCL.
 
     Article VII of the Company's Bylaws provides, except as expressly 
prohibited by law, an unconditional right to indemnification for expenses and 
any liability paid or incurred by any director or officer of the Company, or 
any other person designated by the Board of Directors as an indemnified 
representative, in connection with any actual or threatened claim, action, 
suit or proceeding (including derivative suits) in which he or she may be 
involved by reason of being or having been a director, officer, employee or 
agent of the Company or, at the request of the Company, of another corporation, 
partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other entity. The 
Bylaws specifically authorize indemnification against both judgments and 
amounts paid in settlement of derivative suits, unlike Section 1742 of the BCL 
which authorized indemnification only of expenses incurred in defending a 
derivative action. Article VII of the Bylaws also allows indemnification for 
punitive damages and liabilities incurred under the federal securities laws.
 
     Unlike the provisions of BCL Sections 1741 and 1742, Article VII does not
require the Company to determine the availability of indemnification by the
procedures or the standard of conduct specified in Sections 1741 and 1742 of the
BCL. A person who has incurred an indemnifiable expense or liability has a right
to be indemnified independent of any procedures or determinations that would
otherwise be required, and that right is enforceable against the Company as long
as indemnification is not prohibited by law. To the extent indemnification is
permitted only for a portion of a liability, the Bylaw provisions require the
Company to indemnify such portion. If the indemnification provided for in
Article VII is unavailable for any reason in respect of any liability or portion
thereof, the Bylaws require the Company to make a contribution toward the
liability. Indemnification rights under the Bylaws do not depend upon the
approval of any future Board of Directors.
 
     Section 7.04 of the Company's Bylaws also authorizes the Company to further
effect or secure its indemnification obligations by entering into
indemnification agreements, maintaining insurance, creating a trust fund,
granting a security interest in its assets or property, establishing a letter of
credit, or using any other means that may be available from time to time.
 
     The Company maintains, on behalf of its directors and officers, insurance
protection against certain liabilities arising out of the discharge of their
duties, as well as insurance covering the Company for indemnification payments
made to its directors and officers for certain liabilities. The premiums for
such insurance are paid by the Company.
 
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
 
     Not applicable.
 
Item 8. Exhibits.

     The following is a list of exhibits filed as part of this registration
statement.
Exhibit Number     Exhibit
5.1               Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
23.1               Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick 
23.2               Consent of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 
                   (included as part of Exhibit 5.1)
24.1               Power of Attorney
                   (included as part of the signature page)
Item 9. Undertakings.
 
     (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
 
          (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
     made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
 
               (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3)
          of the Securities Act of 1933;
 
               (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
          arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or
          the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
          individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
          in the information set forth in the registration statement; and
 
               (iii) To include any material information with respect to
          the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
          registration statement or any material change to such information
          in the registration statement;
 
          Provided, however, that subparagraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this
     section do not apply if the information required to be included in a
     post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic
     reports filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
     Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the
     registration statement.
 
          (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
     Securities Act of 1933 (the 'Securities Act'), each such post-effective 
     amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to 
     the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at 
     that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
          (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
     any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at the
     termination of the offering.
 
     (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for the purpose 
of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Company's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of a plan's annual report 
pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by 
reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be a new 
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein and the 
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial 
bona fide offering thereof.
 
     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of
the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for 
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the 
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling 
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or 
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in 
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless 
in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling 
precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether
such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 
Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
SIGNATURES
 
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Company
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Bryn Mawr, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on this 1st
day of March, 1994.
 
                                     PHILADELPHIA SUBURBAN CORPORATION
 
                                     By: /s/ Nicholas DeBenedictis 
                                         Nicholas DeBenedictis
                                         Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed below by or on behalf of the following
persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
 
     Each person, in so signing, also makes, constitutes and appoints Roy H.
Stahl and Michael P. Graham, and each of such officers acting singly, his true
and lawful attorney-in-fact, in his name, place and stead to execute and cause
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission any or all amendments to
this Registration Statement, with all exhibits and any and all documents
required to be filed with respect thereto, and to do and perform each and every
act and thing necessary to effectuate the same.
Signature                              Title                     Date
/s/ Nicholas DeBenedictis   Director, Chairman and Chief         March 1, 1994
    Nicholas DeBenedictis   Executive Officer (Principal   
                            Executive Officer)

/s/ Michael P. Graham       Senior Vice President -- Finance     March 1, 1994
    Michael P. Graham       and Treasurer (Principal
                            Financial and Accounting Officer)

                            Director                             March 1, 1994
    John H. Austin, Jr.

/s/ G. Fred DiBona, Jr.     Director                             March 1, 1994
    G. Fred DiBona, Jr.

/s/ John W. Boyer, Jr.      Director                             March 1, 1994
    John W. Boyer, Jr.

/s/ Mary C. Carroll         Director                             March 1, 1994
    Mary C. Carroll

/s/ Claudio Elia            Director                             March 1, 1994
    Claudio Elia

/s/ Joseph C. Ladd          Director                             March 1, 1994
    Joseph C. Ladd

/s/ John F. McCaughan       Director                             March 1, 1994
    John F. McCaughan

/s/ Harvey J. Wilson        Director                             March 1, 1994
    Harvey J. Wilson
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit
Number     Exhibit
5.1       Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
 
23.1       Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick
 
23.2       Consent of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (included as part of Exhibit 5.1)
 
24.1       Power of Attorney (included as part of the signature page)