Local business owners voiced their concerns about increased water rates and the new tier system that went into effect last year at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting in Peterborough.
Monadnock Plaza’s Bantam Grill and Pearl Restaurant & Oyster Bar owner Harris Weldon discussed the impact the new rates have had on his own operating costs.
“At our restaurants, we have to clean plates and wash dishes; it’s not optional,” he said.
He said that every town uses a different system, so making comparisons is difficult. He said that Peterborough measures water usage by cubic feet and Jaffrey measures per 1,000 gallons, adding that 1 cubic foot is equal to 7.48 gallons.
Providing an example, Weldon said that according to the New Hampshire 2025 State Water Survey, the state average per year is $868 for water and $1,100 for sewer, or a total of $1,968.
He said that if a Peterborough resident uses 12,000 cubic feet per year based on the current system, they will pay $1,100 a year for water and $1,600 for sewer, meaning Peterborough residents pay more than $700 more than other state residents.
In response to Weldon’s presentation, Select Board member Tyler Ward mentioned that the bill is still new.
“The bottom line is we have to pay for our water, and the research is limited,” he said. “So we should take some time, wait a few cycles, and see who is really impacted and who really isn’t,” he added.
Representing the Monadnock Country Club, Kate Taylor said the new system was implemented during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.
“It isn’t in anyone’s operating budget. Someone should have looked at this from a business perspective. If the town looked at 10 business water bills for the potential increase, like mine for instance, which has gone up $7,000, the writing would have been on the wall,” she told the Select Board.
Town Administrator Nicole MacStay stated the town implemented the rates at the beginning of the fiscal year, which started in July. “Our goal was to get these into place at the beginning of the town’s fiscal year.”
Water rates increased for nearly all Peterborough residents under the new system. Peterborough Assistant Town Administrator Seth MacLean said “people are upset for understandable reasons,” adding the town is looking at possible changes to the new system.
According to MacLean, “multi-family use homes and businesses are the most heavily impacted. We’re drafting a solution called the Water Meter Incentive Program for Multi-Family Properties and Irrigation Meters.”
MacLean said the program’s goal is to provide multi-family buildings, such as apartments with individual meters. Rather than residents of an apartment building paying based on a single meter assigned to the building, each individual living unit within the apartment would be given its own meter. “By doing so, neighbors aren’t covering the bill for another tenant’s long shower,” he said.
The program’s draft, which can be found on the Select Board’s minutes page for Jan. 13, states its purpose is “to assist property owners with the installation of new meters on multi-family properties and irrigation systems, ensuring equitable water and sewer billing, promoting conservation, and minimizing administrative challenges under the new tiered rate structure.”
According to the Peterborough town website, before the new water rates went into effect last year, the old system assigned all residents the same flat rate for usage over a set minimum of 750 cubic feet of water per quarter. The new system has four tiers based on usage — Tier 1 for 300 cubic feet or less per quarter, Tier 2 for 301 to 1,000 cubic feet, Tier 3 for 1,001 to 6,000 cubic feet of usage and Tier 4 for 6,001+ cubic feet.
| Utility | Tier 1 Min charge 0 – 300 cu ft/qtr | Tier 2 301 – 1,000 cu ft/qtr | Tier 3 1,001 – 6,000 cu ft/qtr | Tier 4 6,001+ cu ft/qtr |
| Water | $20.885/quarter | $0.0891/cu ft | $0.1089/ cu ft | $0.1145/ cu ft |
| Wastewater (sewer) | $29.5075/quarter | $0.1207/cu ft | $0.1434/ cu ft | $0.1749/ cu ft |
The website states the new system ensures higher usage is billed at higher rates, encouraging efficient water use.
“The main reason for the system change stems from the Cold Stone Springs Well Project linking Jaffrey’s and Peterborough’s water systems,” MacLean said.
For information about the new water rate system, visit peterboroughnh.gov/departments/public_works/new_water_and_sewer_rates.php