Hibbard Out as Aquarion Water VP

The Aquarion Water Company announced Thursday that they have replaced their Vice President of Operation Harrby Hibbard.

The position change comes while The Town of Hingham is conducting a and just days after Aquarion put mandatory restrictions on residents' sprinkler use during the dry summer climate.

Bruce Silverstone, the VP of Aquarion’s Corporate Communications would not say if Hibbard resigned or was fired but he did confirm that Hibbard no longer works for the water company. 

“All I can say is Harry no longer works with the company and he had the customers' best interest at heart,” Silverstone said.

Hibbard will be replaced by John Walsh, who will now be responsible for day to day operations and management of the company’s water systems in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, according to Charles V. Firlotte, Aquarion President and CEO. 

In the last year Hibbard has taken heat from when the water company announced a water rate increase.  In recent months, Hibbard has represented Aquarion at Hingham town meetings and at Hibbard pleaded with residents to vote against a $320,000 study to take over of the water company, something that residents ended up voting for.

“This is not just a study,” Hibbard warned residents in April. “This article authorizes the Town of Hingham to file a lawsuit against our company to determine the price.  That is the first step down a very slippery slope that will be long, costly and divisive.  Once you follow a lawsuit, you can’t turn that faucet off… The courts-the process- decide exactly what that’s going to cost.”

Since April, Hingham has assigned a committee to study the purchase of the water company from Aquarion.  Last week, after months of analysis, Aquarion Water Co. officials announced that the full price for the water system in Hingham, Hull, and parts of Cohasset would be $184 million, according to an article in the Boston Globe.

Jon Asher, a member of the committee studying the purchase, said the town’s anticipated price is between $21 million and $56 million, depending if the town purchases or leases the water treatment plant, the Globe reported.

Aquarion has agreed to works with the town while they continue to conduct the study.

Hibbard’s successor, Walsh, had been serving in the role of Director of Supply Operations since early this year.  Prior to his time with Aquarion in Massachusetts, Walsh, a Massachusetts resident, had been employed for twelve years by Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut as Director of Supply Operations and as Manager of Engineering.

 “We are delighted to promote John to head our Massachusetts and New Hampshire operations,” Firlotte said in a press release.  “He has outstanding engineering skills and experience, and is a great asset to our Aquarion team.