TURNERS FALLS — Water rates in the Turners Falls Water Department will increase by 10 cents per 1,000 gallons for the new billing period.
The new rates go into effect for the current billing period, which begins Oct. 1 and ends March 31. The bill for this period comes May 1.
The increase is a routine adjustment for the Water Department’s operating costs, said District Accountant Eileen Tela.
The 10 cents represents an increase of 4 percent for customers in the lowest bracket of water usage and about 2 percent for customers in the highest bracket, making this increase a relatively low one, Tela said.
This is the first increase since 2015 for customers in the Turners Falls Fire District, and the first since 2012 for customers outside of it.
Because taxes for the Turners Falls Fire District subsidize the water infrastructure, water rates for customers within the district remain significantly lower.
The increase was approved by the Turners Falls Water Department Board of Commissioners at its May meeting, Tela said.
The Turners Falls Water Department’s main source of water consists of two artesian wells located at the Tolan Farm well field. These gravel-packed wells pump 1.2 to 2 million gallons of water per day to the filter plant. The treated, filtered water is then discharged into the gravity fed distribution system.
There are over 57 miles of underground mains and pipe within the Turners Falls Water Department. The storage facilities located on Wills Hill in Turners Falls have a total storage capacity of 6.3 million gallons. Lake Pleasant and Green Pond are emergency backup surface water supplies.