Water, sewer rates will increase
By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer
Published on June 20, 2008
An average household that is on both town water and town sewer will pay about $36 more annually for the municipal services beginning July 1.
The Select Board Monday unanimously approved a proposed increase in the rates for water and sewer that was included in the budget book prepared by Town Manager Larry Shaffer in January.
Robert Pariseau, director of water resources for the Amherst Water Department, explained that the water rate will rise from $3 to $3.20 per 100 cubic feet of water, while the sewer rate will go up from $3 to $3.10 per 100 cubic feet of water.
These adjustments, Pariseau said, place Amherst in the bottom 50 percent of communities in terms of what is being charged. "It's still a pretty reasonable rate," Pariseau said.
The average household, which this year used 90,000 gallons of water, or 120 cubic feet, paid $720 for water and sewer. This would rise to $756 next year, a 5 percent increase. Select Board member Anne Awad observed, though, that in three years the average bill will have risen from $528, a 43 percent jump over that span.
Pariseau explained that utilities use a lot of power and energy, and the increase in rates demonstrates that. "Unfortunately, those are the costs that have gone up a lot," Pariseau said.
The rate increases also reflect the need to continue servicing just as many customers, even as the University of Massachusetts has reduced its consumption of water by 40 to 45 percent in recent years.
"Losing a customer of that magnitude has a dramatic effect on the customers that remain," said Town Manager Larry Shaffer.
In addition, UMass has reduced its sewer output by employing re-use efforts, such as taking effluent and using this as coolant in the new central heating plant.
Still, the positives of these conservation measures should outweigh any drawbacks. Shaffer noted that future economic development may require significant volumes of water, meaning this extra capacity in the system will be there without having to pay for new sources.
"Savings through conservation aren't seen right away - they are seen down the road," said Select Board Chairman Gerry Weiss.
Meanwhile, Shaffer is offering residents an opportunity to have their meters read as close to July 1 as possible so that water used prior to that date is not charged at the new rates. This lack of pro-rating water used before July 1 had been brought up as an issue by Paul Koss of Stagecoach Road last year.
Shaffer said he, Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring and Assistant Town Manager John Musante investigated ways to more efficiently complete the quarterly reading of water meters, and determined that the cost of purchasing such a system would be more than $1 million.
"It's a pretty expensive solution for a problem that is nowhere near that magnitude," Shaffer said.
With the costs of gas and food rising, Koss suggested that town officials at least show compassion toward residents by delaying the implementation of the new rates until the billing period starting Sept. 1. The board did not agree to do this, as Weiss noted that the most this would save an average household would be $9.
