Somerville residents were caught off guard when they received much higher than expected water bills following the city’s metering upgrades.

By Jim Clark

A large number of Somerville residents are steamed up over the water bills they received recently. Many have reported figures in the thousands of dollars – some even in the tens of thousands.

It seems that as the Somerville Water and Sewer Department replaces older water meters as part of its City Wide Water Meter Replacement Project the billing becomes more accurate, and as a result certain residents are getting significantly higher bills than they used to.

According to the department, the older meters were measuring water usage accurately but they were not transmitting the data correctly, hence the program to replace the older devices with new ones. The accompanying sticker shock for consumers once the improved systems were in place was difficult for many to understand and to deal with.

The issue got the attention of the Somerville City Council and the its lates regular meeting on Thursday, April 11, Councilor At Large Kristen Strezo put forward an order that the Committee on Equity, Gender, Seniors, Families and Vulnerable Populations conduct a Committee of the Whole Public Hearing to hear how the increases in water and sewer rates are affecting Somerville residents, and that all relevant city departments be in attendance.

Speaking on the matter, Strezo said, “I’m sure you have all been hearing about the water bills and the influx of anxiety that everyone’s going through. I think that what’s important is we have residents have a chance to speak on their experiences, and I think our constituents deserve to know that their city is listening to them in this capacity.”

“You know where I’ve stood on this for years,” Strezo continued. “Displacement comes in forms not just from a lack of affordable housing stock, lower income residents will feel the pain of the influx of water bills and sewage bills.”

Strezo pointed out that that 85 percent of the new water meter reader installations have been completed, but she added, “We’re still not there.”

“While there are some bill payer assistance programs to address water and sewer bills through the state, it is a high threshold to qualify, and it covers the water portion of the bill but it doesn’t cover the sewer portion,” said Strezo. “And in Somerville, less than 100 household are helped by the state’s water bill assistance program. Less than 100 residents. We have over 16,000 water bill accounts here.”

Strezo then reminded the Council that around 900 hundred residents are no longer receiving the ARPA funded low-income water bill assistance program to help them with their water and sewer bills, having expired on April 1 of this year.

“Those 900 residents without a plan,” Strezo continued. “At the same time and influx of retrograded bills were mailed out. I’ve heard from residents expressing this fear, worry about how they’re going to pay the water actual estimated bill.”

Strezo spoke of recent water bills coming to several thousand dollars after the meters were changed.

“We have some residents in affordable housing units whose lease requires that they pay their own water bills,” Strezo said. “And that’s about 425 residents in Somerville.”

“My hope is that we apply what we here in this Equity Committee public hearing and act nimbly that the Administration gets the message loud and clear that we need to be acting faster, and can’t just sit here and twiddle our thumbs and wait and do as much as we can to help this influx of bills,” said Strezo. “Years ago, I stated I would not support any kind of increases without a parallel plan that addressed some of the increases and help residents,” she said.

Strezo expressed some frustration concerning how long a process would take to implement programs to help for residents who are having a hard time paying these bills and urged expedient action by the city.

Several Councilors expressed their support for seeking assistance for residents and also passed the call for a public hearing which has been scheduled for May 15, at City Hall with the public invited both in person and virtually.