Lost in all of the Sturm und Drang surrounding Housatonic Water Works (HWW) is that the Housatonic community should be grateful for the Mercer family’s decades-long caretaking efforts of HWW and its users. Much like election workers in modern America, the Mercers did not sign up for the tumult in which they have become embroiled. Count me among those that believe the Mercers are trying to be good stewards of an ageing water system subject to naturally occurring forces beyond their control. The Mercers find themselves, as many of us often do, between a rock (well, manganese and sediment) and a hard place. This is no one’s happy place.
Which is not to say there is not a contrary view. There are those that feel the Mercers underinvested in HWW’s filtration system and slow-rolled pipe replacement. I will simply note that capital improvements are regulated by the Department of Public Utilities, and investor-owned utilities benefit from capital expenditures (as they are granted a return on their investment from their ratepayers). Regulators often prevent utilities from making system-wide investments, as utilities are writing checks on their clients’ accounts. Maybe the Mercers invested as much as HWW’s customers could tolerate. But here we are. Let’s agree we can be more productive by not spending time debating the question.
I live along a long road the maintenance of which is shared with six other houses. If the homeowners had a heart-to-heart, we would acknowledge we need to repave the nearly milelong road that is fighting to survive a decade or more after its past due date. But rather than suffer an enormous assessment, the group of us patch what we can and ignore what we can’t, because the alternative is far more unpleasant. From this, I have some empathy for the Mercers.
In a perfect world, the Mercers would implement the $31 million-plus capital improvements recommended by AECOM to deliver the good clean water that they no doubt wish to provide. But the Mercers know, as we all know, that the 850 HWW ratepayers would have about as much trouble digesting the water bill funding the required improvements as they do brown water often spouting from their faucets. So, as we do along my road, the Mercers patched what they can and tried to ignore what they can’t. To be sure, there is a world of difference between crumbling asphalt and water exceeding Maximum Containment Levels. The Mercers’ inability to fix HWW’s problems must weigh heavily on their minds.
This saga has reached a decision point. HWW lacks the wherewithal and will to implement necessary modifications. The village, the town, and the Commonwealth require immediate change. We need a way forward. Here is a plan in a few easy steps.
Step one is the Selectboard assembling a committee of stakeholders and interested citizens to evaluate the paths forward. We know from AECOM’s June 2021 report that the system requires improved filtration, deeper water intakes, pipe replacement, and myriad other improvements in the 218-page report. The committee’s mandate should be to ensure that Housatonic’s water is as good and clean as the rest of the town’s water, and the AECOM report is a good starting point.
Step two is dissociating the Mercers from HWW. It has been suggested that we have reached a point where the Mercers are willing to part with HWW. Given the enormous costs HWW faces, presumably the Mercers know that getting paid real dollars for HWW is a pipe dream. Yes, a recent HWW appraisal suggested a value of $2.3 million, but to reach that value the appraiser inexplicably ignored an inflation adjusted $35 million in long term capital expenditures. I wholeheartedly agree with one analysis of the appraisal, here, that found the report overstated HWW’s value by, well, $2.3 million. Let’s also agree we are unlikely to have a town meeting seeking to buy HWW for anything more than nominal value.
The Mercers do have something that is invaluable for which they should be compensated (it just isn’t HWW). The Mercers know more about HWW than anyone else and are assuredly critical to its ongoing operation and long-term fix. Rather than pay the Mercers for their underwater utility, the town should commit to a lengthy consulting agreement with the Mercers. That’s a win/win – the town gets the Mercers’ expertise, and the Mercers can continue to earn a reasonable income for some period to come during the early years of the transition.
With the Mercers’ agreement, HWW is transferred to a public entity. Less clear is which public entity gets to hold the bag—the town, the Great Barrington Fire District Water Department (GBFD), a newly-formed district, or other. Of the obvious candidates, I’d suggest the town is best suited to manage Housatonic water delivery under contract with GBFD for certain aspects. But once HWW is a public entity, something magical happens. With the Commonwealth’s cooperation, the post-HWW entity can access capital at favorable municipal rates unavailable to private utilities, although the magic is constrained by the town’s and ratepayers’ appetite for debt payments.
Step three is for the entire town to acknowledge the need to step up for the village, and for the village to recognize that it is going to take time to get this exactly right. One thing is crystal clear now—we are long past the time to get this process started.
