The Brewer Water District (BWD) has operated in close cooperation with eight city managers and constantly changing city councils over a period of more than 50 years to bring a safe water supply to citizens, and to support the amazing growth of housing, roads, schools and business enterprises which have taken place in our city.

Through careful planning and astute negotiations with both developers and the city government the BWD was able to operate for 31 years, through the whirlwind growth of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s with absolutely no increase in rates being needed. When the city government wanted to build Parkway South (it was just open fields in the ’50s) the BWD negotiated a plan to provide water service and carried it out with no rate increase – East-West Industrial Park the same way. Careful management? You bet. Where would our city be today without the taxes produced by this tremendous area?

In the 1980s safe drinking water acts included BWD among those water suppliers who were the earliest forced to comply, a tremendous cost burden. The BWD trustees early on worked closely with nationally recognized engineers to study the situation and came up with a plan to avoid some of the most costly requirements and a leading-edge treatment technology both more effective and less costly. Many days were spent by BWD trustees and staff until a procedure was agreed to by the government, which literally saved the people of Brewer millions of dollars.

Even with these savings, BWD customers were faced with financing needs that were very great. Trustees pursued low rate, long term loans to lessen the burden on water users and in the process qualified for grant money in excess of $3 million – again to the benefit of water users.

After a period of more than a decade (ending in 2000) this work is complete. Doing this very large job, so far ahead of many other districts, and taking on this cost of financing has made the rates to cover this mandated work above the average in the state, but as other districts fall under the compliance rules they, too, will experience what Brewer has now completed.

The financing has been very carefully planned and arranged to leave the BWD as it has always been, professionally managed and in cooperation with every city administration and serving all its citizens.

With the exception of these government mandated programs, which do not create new customers or increase income, all expansion projects of the BWD, by law, require contributions by developers to pay for main extensions. This protects the present water users from being billed for any other developments from which they get no benefit.

The independent auditors, trained in nonprofit utility work, closely examine the BWD each year as required by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and certain government agencies. They and the agencies all find the BWD to be sound and carefully operated.

Control is one of the BWD’s major abilities – control of the cost of compliance, control of costs of operation and control of planning for future needs are all addressed by the board of trustees often and well.

Each year the BWD provides the city government an updated revision of its ongoing five-year maintenance and improvement plan and receives from the public works department information on its plans. Every effort is made to coordinate this work. It is made more difficult each year with more utilities using the streets. For many years and with each succeeding administration these efforts have worked quite well and it has only been with the current management team that an increase of difficulties has occurred.

In its 52 years of service to the city water users the BWD has been able to meet all requirements mandated by PUC and government agencies. It has received a number of citations for excellence for its operations and reporting. Unlike a number of other utilities in the state, whether electrical, wastewater, or public water supply, BWD has never been cited or penalized for any non-compliance. With the continued nomination of quality, dedicated people as trustees, Brewer citizens will be well served in the future.

During the recent hearings in Augusta before the legislative committee, several legislators were heard to say, “What is this action all about? There are no money problems here. We don’t want to decide this local spat, we’ll vote to send it to referendum.”

That’s what they said to some of us. That’s what they did. Now it’s up to you.

We urge a “no” vote to keep the good water flowing.

William P. Hayes is the chairman emeritus of the Brewer Water District trustees.