Peterborough may replace its current four-tier water rate structure with a two-tier system aimed at stabilizing revenue and distributing costs more evenly among users.
More than 50 residents attended a March 17 Select Board meeting, where board member Bonnie Tucker presented the proposal. Under the current system, quarterly water use is divided into four tiers: 300 cubic feet or less, 301 to 1,000 cubic feet, 1,001 to 6,000 cubic feet and more than 6,000 cubic feet. Tucker’s proposal would reduce that to two tiers: 0 to 750 cubic feet per quarter and more than 750 cubic feet.
Original Water Rate
| Utility | Tier 1 0-750 cu-ft/qtr | Tier 2 751+ cu-ft/qtr |
| Water | $46.41 | $0.0618 |
| Wastewater (sewer) | $65.57 | $0.0874 |
Current Water Rate
| Utility | Tier 1 (minimum charge) 0-300 cu-ft/qtr | Tier 2 301-1,000 cu-ft/qtr | Tier 3 1,001-6000 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 |
Proposed Water Rate
| Utility | Tier 1 0-750 cu-ft/qtr | Tier 2 751+ cu-ft/qtr |
| Water | $69.62 | $0.0866 |
| Wastewater (sewer) | $72.13 | $0.1233 |
The current pricing, put in place last year, The first tier in the proposed system
Tucker said the proposal is intended to balance four goals: revenue stability, affordability, economic development and conservation. She said the town needs a rate structure that reliably covers expenses, applies increases fairly across users, supports local businesses and still encourages residents to conserve water.
She said the bond for the Cold Stone Spring Well was the main factor behind the sharp increase in the previous quarter’s water rates.
“We all did vote for a well bond, so we should pay somewhat more,” she said.
Tucker said 80% to 90% of water system costs are fixed, meaning the town depends largely on revenue that does not fluctuate with usage. Conservation, she said, affects the smaller variable portion of revenue.
“Whether people shift their water usage or not is something we have to take into consideration,” she said, as the variable revenue adds a degree of uncertainty.
When water rates go up, there’s an initial increase in revenue, Tucker said. But as people conserve more, usage falls and so does revenue, creating what she called a “conservation conundrum.”
She said restaurants and businesses have seen the steepest increases under the current system because their usage automatically places them in the highest tier. Her proposal would raise the base charge while flattening the rate increase for higher-volume users, reducing the burden on restaurants and other businesses.
“All of Peterborough’s independent restaurants start at about 6,600 cubic feet of usage and go up to 20,000 cubic feet, with large businesses exceeding that,” she said. “Most usage comes from dishwashers, which can’t be changed as it’s a necessary function of the business model.”
Monadnock Country Club was an outlier, using 90,000 cubic feet per quarter. “Based on the current rate, they’ll never get out of that tier,” Tucker said.
Country club owner Kate Taylor said her most recent bill was $12,000, a sharp increase from her typical $3,000.
Some residents expressed dismay with the current water rate system, including Noone Falls building owner Steve Walker.
“This should have been a one-on-one conversation between the town and businesses before the rates were proposed,” he said.
Resident Cody Boutwell asked the Select Board if it was possible to implement monthly water bills rather than quarterly. “I think it would lessen the sticker shock,” he said.
Chair Tyler Ward said the board will continue reviewing the proposal at future meetings and encouraged residents to attend.
