By Kim Siebert MacPhail
At their July 2nd meeting, the Selectmen were asked to approve a small rise in water rates and a small decline in sewer rates for fiscal year 2013. If the numbers are revised as requested, combined water and sewer bills would increase marginally, by 1.5%.
The Selectmen also pondered how to respond to concerns raised by resident Peter Cone about a fixed irrigation rate— or R3— that Cone contends is too high.
An Overview of Water and Sewer Rates
Department of Public Works Director Rich Warrington and Finance Director/Treasurer Victor Garofalo provided explanatory charts and tablesand described the calculations behind the requested revision of rates.
Water and sewer billing rates are broken into different several categories:
R1 is a rate applicable to both incoming water usage and outgoing sewer discharge for the first 40 hundred cubic feet (hcf) of each, annually.
The R2 rate is applied to any amount over the first 40 hcf and carries a higher per unit charge.
The R3 category is only used for irrigating water. It was added by the Selectmen in 2007 and is used only by households that have installed a separate meter foroutdoor water use. There is no corresponding R3 sewer rate because water used outdoors (gardens, pools, etc.) is not discharged into the sewer system.
While the base fees for both water and sewer have remained constant (see chart), the R1 and R2 water and sewer rates fluctuate from year to year. In 2006, for example, water rates increased 20.3% from the previous year and sewer rates declined by 10.9%.
The town, as a whole, used 425,117,205 gallons of water in FY 2012. Some of that water is pumped from still active town wells along Shawsheen Road but the majority is purchased from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) through an arrangement with Lexington in which Bedford pays a 1% surcharge for using Lexington’s pipes to deliver water to Bedford plus an administrative fee of $50,000 a year. In an interview following the Selectmen’s meeting, Director Warrington explained that when Bedford sought to become an MWRA customer, it hooked into Lexington’s pipelines rather than run separate pipes to Boston, saving 14 million dollars in infrastructure costs.
Revenues to Bedford fromwater and sewer customer payments equaled 6.8 million in FY12, according to Warrington.
Resident Concerns about the R3 Rate
A question about outdoor irrigation— or R3—rates was raised by resident Peter Cone of Fern Way. Cone installed a second meter expressly to save money when watering his vegetable and flower gardens and his fruit trees. He claims he uses miniscule amounts for outside watering and has “probably the worst lawn in the neighborhood.” Cone had written a letter to the Selectmen about the matter and was present at the July 2nd meeting to discuss it further.
The question about the R3 rates centers on the $8.00 flat rate per hundred cubic feet that is charged for the separate outdoor water usage. In addition, the annual base fee of $17.50 is also chargedfor the separate meter. R3 rates do eliminate the corresponding sewer charge but are higher than the R2 water rates.
Mark Siegenthaler, the longest serving member of the Selectmen, was on the board in 2007 when the decision was reachedto create an R3 category. He said the Selectmen were approached at the time by residents, asking for relief from water rates that included a sewer component.
“It was basically a compromise between allowing people to use the water but not paying sewer charges for something that was clearly not using the sewer system and also encouraging them to think about think about conserving…that (drinkable) water is just not an endless resource that you can afford to simply spray over your lawns.” He continued, “There are more people having vegetable gardens now… but I don’t know how you’d ever differentiate between them and the people who are watering their lawn during a rainstorm.”
Selectman Margot Fleischman added, “If you compare the $8.00 R3 charge to the base rate (R1) for people that are using under 2000 cubic feet, it seems like a lot more— with the water and sewer combined— but for people exceeding the 2000 cf, then the $8.00 is less than the combined water and sewer charges that they would pay. So, the greater your consumption, the more benefit you derive from having a second meter. And if you have low consumption, you’re not deriving benefit from having a second meter.”
“It might be interesting to see,” said Siegenthaler, “whether or not the R3 could have two tiers to it so that an occasional user—the person who really is watering their vegetable garden and not their entire lawn four times a week—might be able to see the R3 rate come down. Although I still think it needs to be higher than the R2.”
“It introduces a third variable in a two variable matrix, said Warrington. “It could be done in a guestimate form”(between now and the next meeting when a decision on the matter is expected), said Warrington, “but I couldn’t produce it to a good degree of accuracy.”
In a follow-up interview, Cone reflected, “If I knew what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have gotten a second meter. It’s going to take a long time to recoup the cost of installing it. But, it would be good to have two rates for different levels of outdoor water use. ”
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