To the Editor:

The Board of Water Commissioners (BoWC) would like to invite all interested residents to the annual District Meeting to be held on April 8th, 2018 in the High School Auditorium at 7 p.m.  At this meeting we will be presenting the FY20 budget.  The budget can be found on the district’s website, www.warehamfiredistrict.org.

We are expecting the first State Clean Water Trust Revolving Fund (SRF) loan repayment for the water purification plant in FY20 (amount shown in published budget will be amended on District Meeting floor for an annual interest only payment for this year, not full annual loan repayment amount).  In addition, one half year of water purification plant operation cost is factored into the FY20 budget (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020). These costs when added to the budget result in a significant increase in the overall budget from FY19. When the water purification plant costs are factored out, the budget has a small increase (<2.0%).  

The capital improvement fees currently in play will cover the water purification plant loan costs. Both the Board of Water Commissioners and Prudential Committee approved a two-step fee to pay for the water purification plant loan.  The first step was last year, and the second step will be on July 1, 2019.

A typical six-month water bill of 4,000 cubic feet (~30,000 gallons) will see a $30 change or ~$5/month starting on the July 1, 2019 bills and beyond.  This dollar amount can be ratioed up or down based on your consumption to estimate your change. See the rules and regulations under our web page for more information.  

Please note that water rates are tiered based on consumption so changes in consumption could affect your overall bill up or down.  No other changes will be made in the water rate for FY20.

True to the Department’s word at the last District Meeting, we can see rehabilitation projects coming and have begun to save for those projects.  You will note that all warrant articles for FY20 are out of surplus. Warrant Article 22 – chlorine disinfection pipe will be pulled from the warrant list at District Meeting.   

Sincerely,

Edward J. Tamagini III

Chairman for the Board of Water Commissioners