Politics & Government

Water, Sewer Rates to Go Up by End of the Year

Until issues surrounding the Westerly Treatment Plant are resolved, it is unclear how much sewer rates could rise.

Northborough water and sewer customers can expect to see increases in their bills by the end of the year. 

Based on a water and sewer enterprise funds rate study, water customers will likely see a base fee that is assessed quarterly, but no water rate increase. The base fee per quarter, $10 per household, will generate $200,000 a year in revenue to cover necessary billing, collection and capacity costs. Rates for sewer customers could increase to 20 percent or higher. 

In a joint presentation by DPW Director Dan Nason, Christopher Woodcock from Woodcock and Associates and Town Administrator John Coderre, the three compared rates, explained usage changes, and delved into the history of water and sewer treatment at the Westerly Treatment Plant in Marlborough.
 
The entire study can be viewed here. 

All of Northborough's wastewater is treated at the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant first through the Hudson Street station. With a $30 million expansion now completed, a new Inter-Municipal Agreement between Northborough in Marlborough is in order so Northborough knows its assessment of the bill. Marlborough can't, however, deliver this until a permit is issued from the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System. 

The study's intro reads that "it is currently still pending, as we await the decision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the renewal of the NPDES permit for the plant.  In the meantime, we know that the City of Marlborough has issued permanent bonds and will eventually assess Northborough for our share of the project costs. Given the potential for a significant assessment from the City of Marlborough, the rate study recommends a 20 percent rate increase in FY2014 for the Sewer Division, with similar rate increases to follow in subsequent years. "

Last November, sewer fees became an issue when Marlborough's mayor Arthur Vigeant argued that Northborough was late with a payment. In a response drafted by Coderre, he indicated that not only were the payments not late, but pointed to issues with the rescinded permit for the plant. 

Currently, sewer rates per customer range from $52.07 to $56.44 per quarter. 

The trend in the Northeast, said Woodcock, is dropping sales in water, with factors including consumer awareness, higher water and sewer prices, the economy, plumbing regulations and the weather. 

"I obtained full billing records for water and sewer to find out how much [Northborough residents] use for water each quarter," said Woodcock. "We are projecting that this fiscal year that sales will drop two percent and it'll be another one percent down in FY2015." 

Several years ago, Woodcock said, Northborough proposed an administrative fee that generated a lot of controversy. 

"A lot of that was a misunderstanding on what these fees are for," he said. "I think it's important to understand that the water department expenses are fixed. Nothing will vary even if no one used any water. You still pay assessments, salaries .... water is priced on how much people use, and it's a variable revenue and when the two don't match, that causes problems with the expenses." 

Approximately 80 percent of Northborough uses town water, and about 30 percent has access to sewer. The FY2014 water budget is $2.1 million and the sewer operating budget is $1.4 million. Currently, usage per quarter totals $42.76 to $63,16 per quarter. 

According to the assessment, 120 bills in Northborough each year total zero, and another 300 total a dollar or less. 

"I would speculate that it's because people go off on vacation," said Woodcock. "But when people go on vacation, the town's costs don't go away. That's why we are discussing the base charge." 

Two-thirds of Massachusetts communities have instituted a base charge on water. 

Woodcock added that a low-income discount would be considered for those who couldn't afford the base rate service charge. 

Coderre reiterated that it is difficult to predict the percentage increase for sewer rates, and it "could be higher than 20 percent," because of the pending agreement with Marlborough. 

"It's going to be more than 20 percent, and let's be transparent about that," said Coderre. "One of the things that we have prided ourself with is our ability to address the brutal facts as they may be and come up with a plan of how we are going to address the issues. The treatment plant is at the root of the issue for us, and we can't plan effectively on the sewer side because the permit is held up at the plant. There is a lot of information we just don't have. Twenty percent is not going to do it. We may be looking at 20 percent increases consecutively. The rates have to generate the revenue to pay expenses. They don't generate a profit. All of these stay within the enterprise funds to pay for the services." 







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