Stockbridge — The town’s Board of Health is scheduled to meet on Friday, March 10 at 10 a.m. to discuss options for action against Housatonic Water Works.
According to its 2021 return to the state, which is the latest return the company has filed, as of December 31, 2021, the company has 750 customers in Housatonic, 23 in Stockbridge, 66 in West Stockbridge, and 10 vacancies. “The Housatonic Water Company situation prompted the board to initiate a fact-finding process, including trying to determine if any Stockbridge residents or taxpayers had been adversely affected,” Board Chair Charles Kenny wrote to The Berkshire Edge via email.
In a previous email, Kenny wrote that he has been trying to find any residents from town that have been adversely affected by HWW. In the February 24 email, Kenny noted that the town had received no complaints, but that he was told that eight families from the town may have signed a petition concerning HWW.
The meeting will be held at Town Hall and on Zoom at this link.
Meanwhile, Housatonic resident Debra Herman emailed The Edge stating that HWW has not responded to the letter of demand sent by an attorney representing her and other company customers.
Back on January 25, attorney Michael J. O’Neill of the law firm McGregor, Legere & Stevens of Boston, wrote a letter of demand to HWW President Frederick Mercer and company Treasurer James Mercer, on behalf of 10 HWW customers. In the letter, O’Neill accuses HWW of “unfair and deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce” on account of “unsafe, unfit, impure, and also unreliable” water furnished by the company, under the state’s Consumer Protection Act. In the letter, O’Neill cites various news articles and incidents where the company violated state drinking water regulations. 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.”
In her email to The Edge on Friday, March 3, Herman would not say if the group of residents would follow through with a lawsuit. “I am disappointed but not surprised by Housatonic Water Works’ failure to respond to its customers’ Demand Letter,” Herman wrote. “It fits their long-standing pattern of refusing to assist their customers in dealing with the unsafe, unclean, and undrinkable water flowing from their taps. The Housatonic Clean Water Alliance has raised additional funds to continue its fight for justice for Housatonic Water Works customers. We will be working with our attorneys to determine the next steps in our legal battle.”
Back on February 23, the Selectboard received an appraisal report from Rafters Financial Consultants that, according to the company’s findings, the fair market value of the Housatonic Water Works system is $2.3 million.
Back in December, MassDEP wrote that the state is requiring the company to work on an evaluation of the causes of the previous HAA5 violations and that they must determine potential treatment alternatives to prevent future violations.
The company has not updated its social media website since January 14, when it recapped a letter sent to customers that its water system exceeded a drinking water standard when it comes to halo acetic acids (HAA5) during testing in the fourth quarter of 2022.
