“We haven’t raised our rates in three years, but due to the aging infrastructure, we have to keep making repairs.”
SOUTH HADLEY – Residents of both water districts in South Hadley will be paying more next time the water bills come around.
In District 1, the price will increase from $3.17 to $3.33 per 100 cubic feet of water, according to District 1 Superintendent Jeffrey Cyr. In District 2, the price will go up from $3.45 cents per 100 cubic feet of water to $3.86, according to District 2 Superintendent Mark Aiken.
That amounts to about $27 a year for the average consumer in District 1, and about $25 a year in District 2, according to the superintendents.
In District 2, Aiken said water commissioners at the annual district meeting on May 7 voted to raise the price by 16 cents per 100 cubic feet.
“Also, we used to charge 25 cents for every 100 cubic feet to go into the Water System Improvement Fund. That was changed to 50 cents at the district meeting,” said Aiken.
He attributed the rate hike to the need for capital improvements.
“People think the infrastructure that was put in the ground 100 years ago will last forever, but it just reaches the end of its useful life,” he said.
Last year it cost $530,000 for one of the two water tanks in District 2 to be painted, he said. Tanks have to be painted inside and outside “every 20 years or so” to maintain the quality of the water.
Painting the second tank is on the horizon, he said, and the rate hike will help pay for it. “Before we get that bill, we need to put money aside.”
District 1 Superintendent Jeffrey Cyr said commissioners voted for a 7 percent rate hike at his district’s annual meeting on May 3.
“We’ve got a $40,000 deficit for FY¤’12 because of all the rain,” he said, referring to the excess of rain last summer, which made it unnecessary for people to sprinkle lawns, for example. “Nobody used the water, so we didn’t collect as much.”
District 1 also has two water tanks, and both were recently painted, said Cyr.
“Plus we’re constantly upgrading pipes throughout the year. We spend $100,000 a year in infrastructure replacement,” he said.
“We haven’t raised our rates in three years,” said Cyr, “but due to the aging infrastructure, we have to keep making repairs.”
Water commissioners for District 1 are John Mikuszewski, William Schenker and David Daly. Water commissioners for District 2 are Frank DeToma, Kate Bedard and Donna Russell.