I was surprised with a bill of $18,800 to repair a broken water main in the street that goes to my house. Understandably, we should pay for water line repairs on our property, from the water meter to the house. The taxes we pay are to maintain the infrastructure of the city’s water lines. It should not be incumbent on the resident to pay for broken town water lines outside of their property water line. We pay taxes and Amherst should pay for a break on its streets.

I am 95 years old, have been an Amherst resident for 45 years and should not be placed in this position to pay for the town’s water line infrastructure. How many of us can afford to pay an $18,800 bill to pay for a town repair, especially without any warning. All of the neighboring communities pay for breaks in the water main if they occur on the street. Homeowners can’t control who drives on Amherst roads, the quality of the road construction, or the traffic.

The town of Amherst has no written policy. They have been meeting for two years with no new policy in place. They currently rely on a 50-year-old set of guidelines created when the water supply was owned by a private company.

This is not a big headline story, but my case should be important to all of us because this could happen to any of us at this point.

I urge you to speak to your local district council members and communicate with the Amherst officials to demand an equitable policy be put in place. Specifically, the town should pay for any water main breaks on town property. Citizens should pay for breaks on their own property.

Ask yourself, not only is it fair, but can you (or your elderly parents) afford to pay $18,800 so you can continue having water?

Elsie Fetterman

Amherst

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