Great Barrington — Customers of the long-troubled water utility Housatonic Water Works who live within the town’s limits are now eligible for reimbursements of up to $1,500, as approved by the Selectboard at their meeting on Monday, December 1.
Back in April 2023, then-Town Manager Mark Pruhenski announced that the town had secured $250,000 in relief funding from the state through Chapter 268 of the Acts of 2022, a $3.76 billion economic development bill signed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker.
In September 2023, the Selectboard approved $300 in aid for each HWW customer to reimburse those customers for the purchase of bottled water, laundry-related expenses, and purchases of water filters and other filtration-related products.
According to a report by Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove, during the first year of the reimbursement program in fiscal 2024, 89 households took advantage of the program, with the town reimbursing HWW customers a total of $26,039.
In December 2024, the Selectboard increased the aid to $600.
In fiscal year 2025, 106 households took advantage of the program, with the town reimbursing customers a total of $42,552.
So far this fiscal year, 31 households have been reimbursed, with a total of $12,814 in reimbursements from the town.
According to Hartsgrove, as of December 1, the town has awarded $81,406 of its $250,000 grant. The remaining balance of the grant is $168,593, and any funds unexpended by December 31, 2026, must be returned to the state.
While 749 households in Great Barrington are eligible for the reimbursement, only 226 households have received funding since the program started in late 2023.
“As reimbursements have been processed, it has become evident that many households have allowable expenses that surpass the current $600 cap, particularly when purchasing filtration systems or rent-based units that require an upfront or higher-than-expected investment,” Hartsgrove writes in her report. “At the same time, some residents have expressed reluctance to apply because they feel the reimbursement limit does not sufficiently reflect the effort involved in the process or the cost of the filtration method that they believe is most appropriate for their home. This suggests that the existing $600 cap may unintentionally have limited participation or the program’s intended impact.”
Hartsgrove recommended to the Selectboard increasing the reimbursements to $1,200 for each HWW customer, along with an outreach program to inform customers of additional available funds. The outreach program, which Hartsgrove said would be funded through the state grant, will include letters, postcards, a webpage, and a social media campaign.
The Selectboard eventually approved Hartsgrove’s proposal.
Meanwhile, a Department of Public Utilities (DPU) public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, January 8, at 2 p.m., to deliberate on a request from HWW to approve two loans that the company states are necessary to finance the completion of a manganese filtration plant.
In November, the DPU granted petitions from the towns of Great Barrington and Stockbridge to intervene in the case, and back in October, the Attorney General’s Office announced that they were intervening in the case.
In July 2024, the DPU approved a rate-increase request that allowed the company to increase its customer rates by over 90 percent over a span of five years.
Several capital projects, including the installation of a manganese filtration plant, were included as conditions in the DPU’s approval.
However, in early September, HWW Treasurer James Mercer wrote to MassDEP that HWW was anticipating delays in the construction of the manganese treatment plant.
On September 30, HWW applied to the DPU requesting approval for two loans that the company deems necessary to finance the completion of the plant.
The first loan, which was already obtained in 2020 under the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster program, is for $155,089 at 3.75 percent interest. In late September, the company filed a financing petition with the DPU, indicating that it intends to amend prior annual returns to reflect the reclassification of the SBA loan. However, in early October, DPU Hearing Officer Jennifer Cargill ordered the company not to do so “unless and until directed to do so by the department.”
HWW is also seeking to obtain a second commercial loan for $1 million at an interest rate not to exceed eight percent from CoBank ACB out of Denver, Colo., a cooperative bank and member of the Farm Credit System.
Back in February, both HWW and MassDEP agreed to a construction schedule for the manganese treatment plant.
Per the original schedule, the treatment plant was scheduled to be operational by March 1, 2026. The company’s latest report to MassDEP filed on November 15, however, lists that it is not known when the manganese treatment plant will be completed and operational.
Correction: Originally, this article stated that the Selectboard voted for reimbursements of up to $1,200. While this was the amount recommended by Town Manager Hartsgrove, which is detailed in meeting documents, the board instead voted for reimbursements of $1,500.
