Milton Town Meeting Approves Water Plan

Milton will borrow $5.4 million to replace three water tanks and install new water mains in the Blue Hill Section of town.

The Boston Globe reports that the decision, which was approved by voters at Milton’s Town Meeting last week, is aimed at preventing a loss of water pressure in the area.

Residents can expect their water and sewer bill to go up by an average of $132 or seven percent, with the debt to be repaid over 20 years.

According to the warrant article, “An agreement made in 1957 with the Town of Canton for water usage worked well until 2007 when a new agreement was negotiated. Canton complied and, after spending $7 million for its own water mains, was ready to disconnect from the Milton water mains eighteen months ago. However, by then, and actually much sooner (but not in 2007) Milton had learned that the abandonment of the Canton “loop” water line would spell disastrous consequences for water pressure in the more highly elevated parts of town. Legally mandated levels of pressure would likely be unattainable. The Town would be unable to fight fires at four hundred residences. In addition, the drop in pressure could lead to a serious drop in water quality. Rerouting the water through new, more direct mains at a cost of $2.9 million is the only remedy. A new agreement with Canton gives Milton until November 2016 to finish our work with checkpoints along the way.”