WESTFIELD – The Water Commission voted Tuesday to increase the water rate to increase operational revenue by $400,000 and position the Water Resource Department for the debt service on ongoing infrastructure repairs.
The commission voted to increase the rate for water consumption, currently at $2.95 per 1,000 gallons to $3.25 per 1,000 gallons beginning July 1, which is the start of the city’s fiscal year.
The board rejected a request to also increase the base rate for water service, a fee charged to all customers regardless of consumption. The residential base rate is $20.50 per quarter
Water Resource Superintendent Dave Billips presented the details of the department’s annual revenue shortfall for the past five years, with an average shortage of $426,000 a year.
Billips said that revenue shortage is quickly depleting the department’s reserve account at a time when $12 million in new debt will be added to the budget. Payments on that debt will cost the department about $70,000 per $1 million.
The reserve account, which is the department’s contingency repair account, “should be over $1 million” to deal with unanticipated emergencies, such as the Granville dam spillway which was washed out by the floodwaters of Hurricane Irene, Billips said.
The department’s reserve fund is currently at $193,000, which, Billips said, could be wiped out by a major emergency repair project.
“We’re operating a water system with 220 miles of water mains, some of which are a hundred years old, 2,000 fire hydrants, four water tanks, four booster station and 11,000 residential customers,” Billips said.
The city’s water system includes both surface water from Granville Reservoir and eight wells, with plans to install a new well off Shaker Road, as well as two treatment plants, one in Southwick to treat water from the Granville Reservoir and the other off Shaker Road to treat well water contaminated with ethylene dibromide (EDB) a chemical used in agriculture.
“Bottled water, at $1.25 in the store, would cost $10,000 for 1,000 gallons,” Billips said. “City water currently costs $2.95 per 1,000 gallons. The average monthly residential water bill is $25 compared to a monthly phone bill of $175 and a cable TV bill of $150.
“The Massachusetts Infrastructure Finance Commission recommends that water rates should be 1.25 percent of the community’s median income, which in Westfield would equate to $500 annually,” Billips said.
“We’re looking for $400,000 in additional revenue,” Billips said. “The average shortfall for the last four years is $426,500. This rate increase should cover that”
