Attendees: Interim Chairman Paul Lauenstein, Mike Sherman, Len Sekuler
Others: Eric Hooper (initially), David Hearne, Rich Powell (arrived later)
1. New members
Paul Lauenstein welcomed David Hearne as a prospective new member of the WMAC. Two other candidates, David Crosby and David Ferestien, are awaiting confirmation by the Selectmen.
2. Review minutes of October 12, 2006
Eric Hooper objected to approving the minutes in the absence of Secretary Rory McGregor. He pointed out that there were significant differences between the minutes initially circulated to the committee by Rory McGregor and a second draft of the minutes with extensive changes and additions circulated by Paul Lauenstein at the behest of Rory McGregor. Eric Hooper said that these differences had a bearing on representations made by Paul Lauenstein at Town Meeting on November 13, 2006, and that Paul Lauenstein would be receiving a letter of reprimand from the IG’s office. Eric Hooper also accused Paul Lauenstein of showing bird photos that Paul Lauenstein had not taken himself in his presentation at the November 13 Town Meeting. Eric Hooper expressed his objections in a disrespectful, disruptive and threatening manner. Consequently, Paul Lauenstein asked him to leave the meeting.
After Eric Hooper departed, the WMAC voted unanimously to postpone consideration of the minutes until the next meeting.
3. New wells
David Hearne asked for an overview of the locations of the six existing wells and the proposed new well sites. A discussion ensued in which Paul Lauenstein, Mike Sherman, Len Sekuler described the existing wells, prospective new well sites, and other aspects of the existing water supply infrastructure. Paul Lauenstein recounted the difficulties and delays involved in obtaining access to the Gobbi property for the purpose of drilling exploratory test wells.
4. Emergency backup
WMAC members listed for David Hearne the three sites along Bay Road being considered as possible locations for an emergency backup connection to Stoughton, which has access to ample supplies of MWRA water. They explained the need for adequate redundancy of water supply in case of the loss of one or more town wells, especially during summertime peak demand periods. They said that Eric Hooper is proceeding with evaluation of these three sites in parallel with considering the possibility of a backup solution involving the proposed Brickstone development.
5. Water quality
WMAC members informed David Hearne of the failed pilot iron/manganese filtration system, and the change in direction to a conventional greensand approach. Len Sekuler explained that Well #6 is used only when necessary in summer because of discoloration caused by Iron and manganese. With the ability to remove iron and manganese, this well could provide the community year-round with the full amount of water allowed by its permit.
It was reported that nitrates have exceeded 5 ppm (parts per million) at Well # 2, and the trend is upward. The Selectmen have commissioned a consulting firm to study the problem.
6. Priorities
WMAC members described the three priorities; new wells, emergency backup and water quality established by the committee and accepted by the Selectmen under former WMAC Chairman Michael Birschbach. Paul Lauenstein explained that it is important to evaluate all remaining potential well sites in Sharon as soon as possible because of the closing window of opportunity due to development of remaining open space.
7. Pricing
Paul Lauenstein handed out a proposal for a systematic approach to revising the water rates. He suggested that the first step is to ascertain an appropriate amount of annual revenue required to meet the operating and capital needs of the Water Department. Revenue needs must be projected for the next several years to be used as a basis for the rates. The second step would be to decide whether or not to change the existing rate blocks (0-15,000 gallons, 15,000-30,000 gallons, 30,000-45,000 gallons, and over 45,000 gallons). The third step would be to assign rates to the blocks that will generate sufficient revenues to run the Water Department and maintain water supply infrastructure, keeping in mind the impact on water bills in each usage category and the effect of rates in encouraging efficient water use practices. Paul Lauenstein provided a number of hypothetical rate structures showing their estimated impacts on both water bills and revenues based on actual water usage data from 2003. The handout also included inflation data, an estimate of the reduction in gallons sold resulting from conservation efforts, and graphs showing the distribution of both water demand and number of accounts by usage category.
A discussion ensued about how to allocate the burden of paying for water across various usage groups. Recognizing that water is essential and that a certain proportion of the population that cannot afford high rates, David Hearne suggested reducing the rate of the first small increment of water to zero while setting a very high rate for heavy users who may not care how much their water costs. He also suggested increasing the number of usage categories to create incentives to conserve among the majority of intermediate users. He commented that water rates should be reviewed frequently in response to changing financial needs of the Water Department. Paul Lauenstein cautioned against changing the water rate structure (as distinct from the rates themselves) at this time due to the technical difficulties of reprogramming and printing new water billing forms. He suggested waiting for the new radio meter system to be installed before changing the rate structure in conjunction with a switch to quarterly billing. However, he agreed that more frequent review of the water rates, which have not changed in five years, would be a good idea, and that the block rates should be sensitive to Sharon’s economic demographics in addition to encouraging water efficiency.
Paul Lauenstein said that having readily available financial statements for the Water Department might make it easier to make decisions about water rates. He pointed out that neighboring towns of Mansfield and Foxboro publish separate profit and loss statements for their water departments in their annual town reports, but Sharon does not. He said that the new state water conservation standards recommend an enterprise system of accounting that segregates water department accounts from those of the town.
Rich Powell asked about the marginal cost of water. David Hearne replied that he thought the marginal cost of providing water is small because supplying water is capital intensive, and operating costs such as electricity and treatment chemicals represent a relatively small percentage of the total cost of providing water. Paul Lauenstein agreed, but pointed out that the cost of power and chemicals is rising rapidly. He also said that in the long run, the cost of providing water to the community is driven by peak summer demand. He said that costly supplementary water from MWRA may be needed in the future if peak summer demand rises.
The consensus was that a projection of operating and capital needs of the Water Department will be needed as a basis for recommending revised water rates.
8. Avalon Bay
Avalon Bay plans to take its water from Sharon’s municipal wells and dispose of its wastewater via MWRA sewers to Deer Island via Norwood. Since Deer island is in a different basin from Sharon, this configuration represents an interbasin transfer, and will require approval of the Water Resources Commission.
9. Next meeting: December 21, 2006 at Town Hall, 7:30 p.m.