Politics & Government
Tewksbury Residents Vent About Latest Water Bills
Technically, water rates haven't increased in Tewksbury, but residents are still upset about their December bills. Here's why.
TEWKSBURY, MA -- Even though Tewksbury officials didn't technically raise water rates earlier this year, many residents are taking to the Patch Facebook page to vent about their most recent bill. A new tier structure meant that most residents saw increases in how much they pay for water, even though they used about the same amount of water in previous bills.
"How long long are the residents of Tewksbury going to look the other way as their income is drained by the town?" Tom Be posted on our Facebook page after we reported about the new rate structure earlier this week. "All the town knows is spend, spend, spend while burdening the taxpayers with never ending increases on taxes and services. The new rate structure needs to be revised."
Town officials have yet to respond to a request for comment. But the higher bills stem from a change selectmen approved earlier this year. Under the change, higher water costs kick in at lower usage levels:
Find out what's happening in Tewksburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
| Old Tier | Rate per 1000 gallons | New Tier | Rate per 1000 gallons |
| 0-34,000 gallons | $7.29 | 0-12,000 gallons | $7.29 |
| 35,000-70,000 | $10.31 | 13,000-24,000 | $10.31 |
| 71,000-140,000 | $13.71 | 25,000-46,000 | $13.71 |
| 140,000+ | $17.13 | 47,000+ | $17.13 |
While rates did not increase, the level at which the higher rate for each tier kicks in at a lower level of usage. So someone who used 13,000 gallons last year would have been billed $94.27. This year, under the new tier, they would have been billed $134.03. The one possible benefit is that the count resets with each billing period. Under the old system, the usage was cumulative for the year, meaning the water you used to fill the pool up would mean you'd be charged a higher rate later in the year.
The town sends out bills in April, August and December. The rate schedule is available on the town's Website. While some residents reported seeing significantly lower bills in December, the most vocal were the ones who had seen bills double.
Find out what's happening in Tewksburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Mine was $1300 for four months," Debbi Michaud wrote on Facebook. "Had to water twice a day after reseeding our lawn.I knew it would be high but wasn’t expecting this!"
Below are all the comments from residents responding to our report on the water bills:
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
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