The Cost of Water

Everybody expects clean water to come out of the tap when they turn it on. In many communities the water pipes and storage facilities necessary to get the water to the tap have been in place for a century. As with any old system, problems start to arise. To avoid such scenarios, communities have been upgrading their water systems and replacing pipes for years. The result is higher water rates.

No one likes it when the prices of must-have items go up. In the case of recent water rate hikes in the Bangor area, however, there are good reasons for the increases, some of which may be temporary.

The prime reasons for water rate increases across the state are the need to replace old pipes, pumps and other infrastructure, stricter federal regulations and growth. In many areas, the pipes are close to 100 years old. It often makes sense to replace pipes, which are buried beneath roads, when the Department of Transportation undertakes major construction projects. Such is the case in Hampden where water lines are being replaced while work is under way to improve Route 1A.

To pay for this work, the town has proposed to increase its rates by 26 percent. The money raised through the rate increases would cover $1.3 million in low-interest bonds to fund several projects, including upgrading a standpipe. Approximately $1 million would go to installing 12-inch water mains along Route 1A. The existing pipes are 1937-vintage cast-iron lines that are too narrow. There also have been several breaks in the area.

In the case of Brewer, where local residents have collected enough signatures to petition the Public Utilities Commission to review a proposed 15 percent rate increase, the water district incurred $14 million worth of debt replacing old pipes and other pieces of the system. The work was needed to increase the water pressure and the system’s capacity. That debt and two uncompleted projects became the responsibility of the city when it took over the water district in 2003. The city has nearly completed the necessary projects and hopes to hold the line on water rates in coming years and may even eventually lower its rates.

Jeff McNelly, director of the Maine Water Utilities Association, considers $1 a day to be a reasonable amount to pay for water to drink, bathe, wash clothes, flush toilets and do all the other sundry activities that involve the commodity. By his calculations, the average household uses 166 gallons a day. That translates into a quarterly sewer bill of roughly $100.

Considering the other things people spend $1 on, water is a good buy.