Needham water and sewer rates will soon be raised by about 4%, an average of about $82 per year for single-family homeowners. At its meeting June 9, the Select Board convened a public hearing with the Water and Sewer Rate Structure Committee, which presented four options for raising water and sewer rates. At its next meeting June 23, the Select Board will vote on these options.
Even with the increase — bringing the average cost to a single-family property owner to $2,130 per year — Needham’s fees are not unusually high. In a five-year comparison chart presented to the Select Board by the Water and Sewer Rate Structure Committee, Needham’s fees and rates of increase fall below the averages of comparable communities.
The higher fees come despite — and in fact because of — lower overall water consumption. Committee member and assistant town manager David Davison explained that long-term falling consumption means there is less revenue, but the work of maintaining the town’s water and sewage infrastructure remains financially challenging due to the advanced age of much of the infrastructure.
According to Davison, Needham’s system remains financially solvent by charging more for higher-use water consumers, a cost structure required by state law. Needham has four “stepped” rate categories. When high-use water consumers cut back, the result is significant revenue loss. As residents conserve water, a laudatory goal given the current drought and long-term projections, the system’s financial stability erodes. According to town estimates, average household use is 12,000 cubic feet of water a year, roughly 90,000 gallons.
Needham’s sewer fees are charged in proportion to water consumption, which has led many property owners to install a separate water meter for outside irrigation. Irrigation-only water does not have associated sewer charges, though secondary meters also have stepped rates based on consumption. Each service also has a basic monthly service fee, currently $5.33 for the primary water meter.
“Approximately 55% of Needham customers also have a secondary meter,” Davison said. That water is not assessed a sewer fee because it does not drain into the town’s approximately 130 miles of gravity-fed sewer pipes. Sewage costs include not only the maintenance of town pipes but also payment to the MWRA for sewage treatment. According to the town’s Sewer Collection System web page, our sewage journeys to the MWRA sewage treatment plant at Deer Island. The MWRA estimates that 45% of a town’s sewer fees go to the MWRA.
The four proposals for increased water and sewer rates presented different ways for adjusting the key variables — water rates, sewer rates, and the service charge — to achieve the approximate 4% increase, but the bottom line was the same. After hearing the proposals, Select Board Chair Heidi Frail said, “Across the board, I think, we’re all very concerned about affordability. Everyone’s taxes are going up.”
Select Board member Josh Levy said that he was concerned with increases to the basic fee because it was the most regressive tax, hitting low-end users the hardest.
“The pricing still has to be reflective of the cost, because if not, then by default, you have to raise property taxes,” Davison said. “And there are many users of water and sewer services that do not pay taxes.”
Davison was referring to nonprofit organizations in Needham such as BID Needham and Olin College which do not pay property taxes but do pay water and sewer bills.
The proposals do not shift the relative rates of the consumption tiers. Currently the highest tier, Step 4 water, is 65% more expensive per cubic foot than Step 1 water, the first 200 cubic feet of water a household uses each month. In fact, the two lowest tiers are below cost. “That’s subsidized by the users at Step 3 and Step 4,” Davison said.
Davison said that any of the four rate hike proposals will result in a financially stable water and sewer system unless the recently imposed state drought restrictions result in lower water usage.
State Upgrades Drought Restrictions in Southeast Region
On June 9, State Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper declared a Level 2 drought status in the Southeast Region, which includes Needham and the entire southeast corner of the state. State regulations for a Level 2 drought allow only “hand-held hoses or watering cans, to be used only after 5 p.m. or before 9 a.m.”
Town Manager Katie King announced these restrictions June 11.
State guidelines for a Level 2 drought also encourages local governments to increase public education and to establish water reduction targets for top users. If the drought worsens, a Level 3 “Critical Drought” would ban all non-essential watering and require municipalities to enact stringent enforcement.
Amy Haelsen, the town’s director of Communications and Community Engagement, told the Observer, “For the time being, the town is continuing with its no-fine/resident-education approach during Level 2 water restrictions.”
This approach may not alter water use levels. Early morning walks by Observer reporters in Needham are accompanied by the pleasant hum of built-in and above ground sprinklers. It’s not clear if this is the result of scofflaw or uninformed behavior, but Carys Lustig, DPW director and a member of the Water and Sewer Rate Structure Committee said, “When you have drought conditions typically is when Needham has the highest consumption of outdoor water usage.”
Save as PDF