Great Barrington — A special Selectboard meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday, February 23 at 6 p.m. The only new business listed on the meeting’s agenda is a presentation on an appraisal of Housatonic Water Works.
Back in early December, the town hired Raftelis Financial Consultants of Natick for $34,000 to appraise the water system owned by the long-troubled company. At a meeting in early January, Town Manager Mark Pruhenski said that consultants from Raftelis had not been permitted by HWW to inspect its facilities. A few weeks later, however, Pruhenski announced that HWW allowed consultants from Raftelis to inspect its facilities.
The consultants are expected to issue a report on the value of the company’s water system along with its condition. Click here to access the Zoom meeting on Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
Previous developments
The company has come under fire from residents and town officials for quite some time due to its ongoing water quality issues.
In a letter to its customers on January 10, the company announced that, during testing in the fourth quarter of 2022, its water system exceeded a drinking water standard regarding haloacetic acids (HAA5). The letter was published on the company’s website and Facebook page. As of press time on Wednesday, February 22, there have been no further updates to the company’s website or Facebook page.
On January 25, an attorney representing 10 HWW customers issued a demand letter to the company through a Boston law firm. In the letter, Attorney Michael O’Neill demanded that the company “provide [its customers] with filtration systems at no cost to them for purchase, installation, operation, maintenance or repair” as well as $3,000 in damages per family. O’Neill added that the company had 30 days to respond to the demand letter, and failure of a response to the letter “would compel the commencement of a lawsuit.” It is not known if the company has responded to O’Neill or the customers he represents.
In early February, Housatonic resident William Nappo submitted a citizen’s petition for this year’s town meeting on May 1. The petition, which received 16 signatures, asks for residents to approve the town to purchase, own, and operate HWW.
Meanwhile, on its website, HWW states: “We take great pride in what we do and we hold ourselves to the highest standards in delivering safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water to the people we serve,” and, “For over 20 years, drinking water supplied by Housatonic Water Works has met or surpasses the EPA and state water quality standard.”
