Town manager: water-rate study underway; proposes semiannual fire-suppression billing and new backflow testing approach

The town manager told the Plaistow Board of Selectmen on May 5 that the town has contracted Underwood to review water operations, costs and rates and that staff will return with recommendations in June and a public hearing on new fees later this summer.

The manager said Plaistow buys water from Hampstead Area Water and has absorbed at least two increases in what it pays that supplier without raising local rates. The board previously adopted a water rate schedule on Dec. 19, 2022.

He said areas Underwood will examine include consumption charges, meter charges and service fees such as turn-on/turn-off charges, meter hookups and backflow-related fees. One specific recommendation he described is changing the town’s fire-suppression billing to a semiannual schedule — billed twice per year, similar to the town’s property tax cycle, rather than once annually.

The manager also said the town struggles to obtain annual backflow test reports from commercial properties and recommended asking Hampstead Area Water to assume the town’s backflow testing so the town can ensure full compliance and report 100% of tests directly to the state.

He said some of the town’s current fees “are barely covering the costs” the town pays to Hampstead Area Water and other vendors, and that Underwood will provide a complete list of recommendations for the selectmen to review on May 19; a public hearing on proposed fee changes would follow in June.

Selectmen asked about pending water infrastructure work on Wilder Drive; the manager said easements and permits remain in progress and that Unitil raised utility-location concerns that the town has addressed as part of easement negotiations.

No formal rate changes were adopted at the meeting; the manager said staff will present proposed adjustments and schedule a public hearing in June.