Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/6/2022
HATFIELD – During their meeting on Nov. 29, the Hatfield Select Board accepted a recommendation for the town’s water and sewer rate to each rise by 10 percent during the second half of fiscal year 2023 (FY23).
The accepted recommendation also indicates that other adjustments will be made to the rates starting on July 1, 2023.
The proposed recommendations were part of a 2020 report from consultants DPC Engineering, LLC of Longmeadow.
The combined increases in the water and sewer rate means that the average residential user will pay $8.17 more per month through June 30, which is the end of FY23. Both rates will then increase by 17 percent in FY24, which means another $14.92 will be added to the average residential monthly bill.
“The rates just basically reflect the implementation of projects on both sides that the residents have authorized,” said David Prickett, a representative of DPC. “It just comes down to doing the math on an annual basis.”
A Water and Sewer Study Report facilitated by DPC shows that these increases are necessary so improvements can be made to aging infrastructure. Specifically, the Hatfield Wastewater Treatment Plant is nearly 40 years old, while portions of the collection system are nearly 100 years old.
In all, the town’s wastewater management plan identified nearly $32 million in capital needs for the collection system, pump stations and treatment plant; with $12 million proposed over the next three years.
The sewer rate will increase from $9.34 per hundred cubic feet to $10.27 for the second half of FY23, and then $11.96 for FY24. The water rate, meanwhile, will go from $4.91 per hundred cubic feet to $5.40 for FY23, and then $6.31 for FY24.
Voters at the Annual Town Meeting in the spring approved a $12 million Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override to cover costs for the wastewater treatment plant. Reminder Publishing also reported back in the spring that the town received a $2.4 million United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to cover some of the upgrades. This project is currently in the design phase, with construction expected within the next 24 months, according to Prickett.
The DPC report also indicates that there are $6 million in capital needs over the next five years, including water main replacement, water main construction and upgrades to the Omasta Well.
The increased rates will keep the town eligible for USDA funding.
“Hatfield on the wastewater side, even with the proposed rates…you’re still only at the 75th percentile statewide,” said Prickett. “Wastewater is an expensive utility.”
According to Prickett, Hatfield’s cost of water is still “well below” the median statewide. “It’s hard to not have percentage increases that look dramatic when your rates start out as low as they were,” added Prickett.