Town Disputes Aquarion Water Rate Increase

At Monday night’s Town Meeting, Selectmen will ask the people of Hingham to allocate between $320,000 and $500,000 to pay for a feasibility study to purchase the town’s water infrastructure from Aquarion Water Company.

The Selectmen originally said the feasibility study will cost $500,000 but the town is thinking about lowering the price of the study to $320,000, according to Aquarion Vice President Harry Hibbard.

The Selectmen want to purchase the town’s water infrastructure because the Department of Public Utilities granted the Hingham water company a 10 percent increase in rates,

With the new rates, the average Hingham household will see their bill increase by approximately $6 a month,  Hibbard said.

Hibbard said rates have increased to pay for the rising chemical and power costs, pensions costs and because of Aquarion’s capital investment.

This is the second time the Aquarion Water Company has raised their rates since 2009 and this has the selectmen and Hingham’s State Senator Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) and State Rep. Garrett Bradley (D-Hingham).

“Frankly, I am outraged that Aquarion was awarded any rate increase given the complaints I have received from constituents regarding their water quality,” Hedlund said earlier this month in a written statement. “To have the cost of litigation in another part of the state borne on the backs of South Shore ratepayers is absurd, and illustrates why the oversight of the Attorney General’s office is necessary in these cases.”

According to Boston.com, Town Administrator Ted Alexiades feels the feasibility study is necessary and said the expected rate increases are high, especially in looking at previous purchases of numerous water systems in the last decade.

Some Hingham residents who oppose the study are those who get their water from Weymouth, and are not even impacted by the water rate increase, the Globe reported.

Hibbard and Aquarion have urged residents at recent public meeting to vote against the feasibility study at Town Meeting.  Hibbard said Aquarion is and said the Town could not come up with a lower cost of rates.

“I do not believe that when all said and done the Town of Hingham’s going to conclude that they can reduce rates in any way,” Hibbard said.

Hingham’s Town Meeting is Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Hingham High School auditorium.

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