Lee — In his 60s, Billy Loehr fears his adult sons won’t be able to make their own lives in his hometown of Lee. Notwithstanding rising real estate prices across Berkshire County, he cites the local water and sewer rates that have been inching up for some time now.
“I keep an eye on my water bill, and it just seems that every year, it goes up and up and up,” Loehr said, adding that his annual water and sewer bill is now north of $1,200. “I don’t know how a lot of people, young people—my kids could never afford to live in Lee.”
When he spoke with his Dalton and Pittsfield family and friends, Loehr began looking into what his water and sewer bills were in comparison. “I think it’s a little exorbitant,” he said of his charges.
Loehr wasn’t wrong about Lee’s average annual residential water and sewer charges being higher than many surrounding towns.
Although the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) provides service to mostly Metro Boston and the eastern part of the Commonwealth, its Advisory Board’s “Annual Water and Sewer Retail Rate Survey” incorporates rate information for the residential annual charges of towns outside its service area. This report analyzes water and sewer charges based on an annual water consumption of 120 hundred cubic feet (HCF), the measurement billing companies implement to assess the amount of water used. One HCF equals 748 gallons of water, or 150 five-gallon water bottles.
According to its 2023 report, MWRA reported that the average annual water and sewer charges for all non-MWRA customers throughout the state, excluding water- or sewer-only listings, was $1,771.42, or $744.61 for water and $1,026.81 for sewer.
For the six non-MWRA customers in the Berkshires, Lee’s average annual water and sewer charges for 2023 was the second highest at a total of $1,923.60, including $730.80 for water and $1,192.80 for sewer. Lenox scored at the top with the highest 2023 annual rates tallying $2,031.30, including $739.80 for water and $1,291.50 for sewer. Behind Lee fell Stockbridge ($607.20 for water and $681.60 for sewer, totaling $1,288.80); Williamstown ($448.80 for water and $651.60 for sewer, totaling $1,100.40); Pittsfield ($259.20 for water and $540 for sewer, totaling $799.20); and North Adams ($484.80 for water and $231.60 for sewer, totaling $716.40). With its fire and water district, Adams posted $756 in average annual water charges for 2023, and, likewise, Lanesborough posted $1,120.80 in average annual water charges.
For MWRA customers, at $1,920, the 2023 average annual costs were less than Lee’s combined water and sewer annual costs, the report stated.
A copy of that report can be found here.
Town Administrator Christopher Brittain agreed and reasoned that the debt taken on by the town for a sewer plant bond is responsible for the uptick in charges. “The main reason for higher rates in Lee is that we have newer facilities for water and sewer (sewer rates are based on water usage),” he stated in an email response to The Berkshire Edge. “The sewer plant bond will be paid off by 2028 and there may be an opportunity to reduce rates.”
However, he said a reduction in water and sewer rates in four years isn’t a sure bet as that decision lies with the Board of Public Works pursuant to the town bylaws.
“I suspect as other towns need to replace their water/sewer plants—such as Lenox upgrading their sewer plant—Lee’s fees will be less or more comparable to neighboring towns,” Brittain said.
Do I have lead in my home water pipes?
Lenny Tisdale, superintendent of the Lee Department of Public Works, offered insight into the questions many residents have asked about the Lead Service Line Inventory, a project conducted by engineering firm and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) subcontractor Tighe & Bond. The measure was mandated by the Commonwealth, requiring all municipalities to complete an inventory of their water systems and provide the status of the presence of lead within the lines.
Information about Lee’s Lead Service Line Inventory, as well as the inventory itself organized by address, can be found here.
Although lead occurs naturally in the environment, its effects can be toxic, especially for young children, infants, and pregnant women, individuals who should minimize their exposure to higher levels. According to the state’s website, “most public water sources are lead free in Massachusetts, but lead can be in your water due to lead pipes, solder, or old fixtures.”
“We test our water regularly and we don’t have lead in our water,” Tisdale said. “The problem is that [MassDEP] is concerned there might be [lead] leaching from people’s homes.”
The issue stems from the backflow from pipes soldered before a ban on lead soldering went into effect in the 1980s, he said. Additionally, older homes may contain galvanized pipes installed before copper was used for service lines, a problem since those pipes have been known to have lead, Tisdale said.
The process began a year ago, with a survey sent to residents to determine the status of their home pipes; however, a lot of people never responded, he said. “So, we don’t know if they have copper running into their house or if they have the galvanized pipe running into their house,” Tisdale said. “It’s an unknown.”
The local DPW was forced to take a step further, he said, sending out a mailer “to trigger people to contact us so that we can figure out if they have galvanized pipe or copper.”
Residents have asked about these mailers, and Tisdale said that once his staff has been contacted, the investigation to determine the type of residential piping at an address begins. A DPW employee is sent out to locate where the home’s shutoff valve is before a Tighe & Bond representative continues the work, often by performing a “vacuum excavation”—vacuuming the dirt all the way down to the service line, sending a camera through the vacuumed hole and identifying the type of pipe.
“All of the ‘unknowns’ are being targeted right now for vacuum excavations,” Tisdale said, adding that the work is performed outside of the home without disturbing the owner or tenant.
If a pipe is identified as copper, there’s no further action needed, he said. However, if galvanized pipe is identified, that information is then recorded by a DPW staffer. “There will be eventual funding from MassDEP to replace the [galvanized] lines,” Tisdale said. “The homeowner won’t be responsible; the town will bear the cost if there isn’t grant funding.”
The inventory procedure is funded by a MassDEP grant that includes Tighe & Bond’s activities, he said. The town has been directed to replace at least 10 percent each year of the total number of homes having galvanized lines, year after year, until all such lines are replaced.
However, lead solder joints are not included in the project that currently is aimed at only the galvanized service lines going into the house, Tisdale said. “Because that’s where you’re going to have most of your [lead] leaching,” he said of the water piping.
The vacuum excavations began in October with more planned for this month, and the procedures will end before the first frost. During the process, the water is safe to use and drink, Tisdale said.
“We have no lead, there’s no issues with [water],” Tisdale said. “This is just a requirement so there won’t be any issues down the road.”
Got cloudy water?
For Lee residents who recently turned on their faucets only to find cloudy or discolored water, Tisdale advises not to be alarmed. Twice each year, in the spring and fall, town hydrants are flushed and the dirty water expunged, he said.
More information about the hydrant flushing can be found here.
“It’s something we have to do every year just to clear the pipes,” Tisdale said. “They’ll have a little bit of turbidity in the water, but it clears up right away.”
Since the effect stems from natural-occurring mineral solids such as iron, the water is still drinkable, he said. “All the iron will stick to the sides of the pipes, and we have to flush that every year; otherwise, it will just keep building up as scale,” Tisdale said. “But it’s just iron, that’s all.”
The process began November 10 and is expected to last for two weeks, ending November 25.
“The water is perfectly safe, and we’re committed to making sure that the residents are safe,” Tisdale said.
