Selectmen Pass Water/Sewer Rates, OK $1M Bond for Water Main Upgrade

By Kim Siebert MacPhail

The first Town Seal

On Monday night, the Selectmen approved the proposed FY13 water and sewer rates as they were presented two weeks ago by DPW Director Rich Warrington and Finance Director/Treasurer Victor Garofalo. The new rates represent a 12.2% increase in residential water rates and a 3.6% decrease in residential sewer rates over FY12. Taken together, they constitute a 1.5% increase overall.

The R3–or irrigation rate—was left unchanged at $8.00 per hundred cubic feet, the same as it has been since the category was created in 2007. The Selectmen requested that Warrington provide a graph illustrating how much water households with R3 meters actually use. The information will allow the Selectmen to study the question of whether a two-tiered irrigation rate should be created, allowing households using smaller amounts of water to irrigate to pay lower rates per cubic foot than those using larger amounts.

It was noted that there are 770 irrigation meters in use in Bedford, which provide $591,564 in revenues from a combination of base fees and actual water use.

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In a written report to the Selectmen, Warrington used the following calculation to demonstrate what a homeowner would spend to water a garden using the separate R3 meter: “(I)f a resident was to water their vegetable garden with a hose 4 nights a week for 30 minutes each night over a 10 week season, I estimate that only 3,600 gallons of water would be used, the equivalent of only 4.8 hundred cubic feet (hcf) or $38.40.” He went on to say that a residence with two or less inhabitants would probably use less than the 40 hcf/year threshold of water that would be charged at the lowest rate (R1). A household with this low level of use would be better served by not installing a second meter since the R1 rate is lower than the R3 rate.

For background on Bedford’s water, sewer and irrigation rates, including a chart showing comparisons, see“Combined Water and Sewer Rates May Rise Slightly; Irrigation Rate Questioned” previously published in The Bedford Citizen.

$1M Bond Ok’d for Water Main Improvements

Acting on an authorization from this year’s Annual Town Meeting, the Selectmen voted unanimously to move ahead with plans to borrow $1M from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) in the form of a 10-year, interest-free bond. The funds will be used to upgrade one of three water mains that enter Bedford at the Lexington line.

The water main in question was installed in 1908. It travels up The Great Road, through town to Fletcher Road, then up Fletcher to the water tower on Pine Hill.

Warrington said he would not be sure if the whole pipeline needs to be replaced until further analysis is done; it is possible that cleaning and relining the pipes with cement mortar will be adequate. Warrington further stated that the quality of the cast iron in the current piping is high, and if it is still in good shape, he would opt for cleaning and relining rather than installing entirely new lines.

When asked by Selectmen Bill Moonan to explain the nature of the problem, Warrington replied that small amounts of coliform bacteria were detected in the Pine Hill water tower at the terminus of the Great Road pipeline. When the water enters Bedford, he explained, it contains residual amounts of chlorine but by the time it reaches Pine Hill—two to three weeks later—chlorine is no longer present.

When testing showed the presence of bacteria in the Pine Hill tank, it was drained, cleaned and flushed. The DPW has yet to determine whether to put water back in the tower now or wait until the line is either lined or replaced.

The pipeline project is scheduled to begin in the spring. Warrington cautioned that the flow of traffic on The Great Road will be disrupted for the duration of the work.

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