Housatonic — As the state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) entertains a 34 percent rate increase for Housatonic Water Works’ (HWW) 1,400 customers, the state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is ordering HWW to fix violations to water quality monitoring and reporting by June 1.
A draft of MassDEP’s February 17 order says HWW customers were to be notified of these violations, along with the order and possible penalties of $25,000 for each violation, by March 15. But HWW Treasurer Jim Mercer told the Edge that date was moved and details of the final draft of the order are still being hammered out between HWW and the agency. A conference was held between the two yesterday (March 14), Mercer added.
Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin said it was important to note that the water is safe to drink. A call was made to MassDEP on this account as soon as the town received the order. “MassDEP does not consider this to be anything of a public heath concern,” she said, noting that the agency “takes immediate action for public health concerns.”
The order was issued to fix some problems from July 2014 forward that include numerous violations to the “Surface Treatment Rule Monitoring and Reporting.” The violations are around some data lapses in continuous testing that the state requires to make sure water is properly disinfected. MassDEP also issued a violation to HWW for failing to notify the public of these testing violations.
The draft order says HWW decided to enter into this agreement because it was “in their own interests, and in the public interest” to take the matter in hand rather than litigate it. And MassDEP will “suspend” penalty payments unless the order is violated.
How this will affect the rate increase request is an unknown. Calls to the Department of Public Utilities to clarify whether the DEP violations would affect the requested rate increase were not returned.
But it’s on people’s minds. Tabakin had a conference call with DPU and “we raised questions about the two concerns. They didn’t really give us any guidance.” And Mercer said HWW knew about MassDEP’s order before they requested the rate hike. DPU told Tabakin they will follow up with her, but for now the agency is still researching whether the company should get its rate hike. “They heard us and heard our concerns about the rate increases and concerns about HWW’s capital plan, and making sure they can operate at the level they need to,” she explained.
Indeed, the company, which draws water from Long Pond, says it needs the increase to deal with some of the more immediate issues like higher operating expenses and state-mandated upgrades to an antiquated system. It created a master plan that will phase much of the work out over 20 years. The company’s last increase was in 2008. This increase would cause a metered customer’s fixed charge to jump from $34.32 to $41.18. HWW wants to also add volume charge $4.42 for every 1,000 gallons used per month, and $8.84 for every thousand gallons over 2,500. HWW says a “typical residential customer” using 5,500 gallons per month would see an increase of $20.10 (34.27 percent). The increase would result in an income to HWW of $187,099, and would vary depending on the season.
But in Housatonic, many residents, particularly the elderly, are struggling to pay their bills, and came out to the DPU’s public hearing in January to protest the increase. Mercer acknowledged this to The Edge in January, and said his company would work with residents to create payment plans.
