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12-21-2022 11:11pm
DWWD Holding Discussion on Proposed Increase to Water Rates (Updated)
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Thanks to the Dedham-Westwood Water District for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
The Dedham-Westwood Water District ("DWWD" or "the District") will hold a discussion about a proposed 5 percent increase to 2023 drinking water rates for customers of the District on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the District has announced. The discussion will be part of the general business meeting of the Board of Commissioners.
The hybrid meeting, to be held at 6:30 p.m. on January 10th, is open to members of the public. Attendees can join remotely via Zoom at this link or in-person at the District Headquarters, 50 Elm Street, Dedham.
The proposed change in rate structure, if it takes effect, would increase two parts of the water bill - the monthly customer charge and the consumption charge. First, the monthly charge for a typical 5/8" residential customer would change from $8.87 to $9.31, a difference of 44 cents. Secondly, the proposed increase would affect the consumption charge portion of the water bill, as well.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection considers a standard measure of residential consumption in the state to be 65 gallons per resident per day. This equates to 1,950 gallons per month for a 30 day period.
MA DEP's records for DWWD indicate that in 2021, each person in the District used an average of 61 gallons per day. Using this as a basis for estimation, a Westwood resident can be expected to use 1,830 gallons of drinking water per month (based on 30 days). In a Westwood household, on average made of three people (who together make up only one billing customer), an expected monthly usage would be 5,490 gallons (1,830 gallons x 3 people) per month.
For this typical Westwood household, under the proposed increase, current monthly consumption charges of $35.62 per month would rise to $37.38 per month, a difference of $1.76 per month in consumption charges. When one adds in the aforementioned 44 cent increase to monthly customer charge, the total monthly bill increase for this customer would be $2.20. The new monthly billing total for this typical Westwood customer would be $46.69 (i.e., $9.31 customer charge plus $37.38 consumption charge).
In its announcement of the upcoming public discussion on the proposed rate increase, DWWD gives a different example, but the resulting bill impact appears quite similar. DWWD calculates the change in bill for a residential customer using an average of 6.5 CCF (1 CCF = One Hundred Cubic Feet = 748 gallons) per month. The result of the proposed increase would be an approximate $2.02 monthly bill increase, says DWWD.
“This rate increase is necessary to meet the rising cost of providing water service to all customers,” said Executive Director Blake Lukis. “Like all industries, the District continues to experience the effects of inflation. Numerous operating costs, such as electricity and water treatment chemicals, have increased significantly.”
The rate structure, proposed to take effect next year is available online and is provided below:
Source: Dedham-Westwood Water District.Updated 12/22/22 at 8:59 a.m. A reference to MA DEP records for water usage in "Westwood" should have referred instead to water usage in the Dedham-Westwood Water District ("DWWD"), which serves customers in both Westwood and Dedham. A change has been made to correct the reference.
