Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board conditionally adopts updated water regulations, approves phased plan for commercial meter ownership
Summary
The Select Board approved updated water regulations required by the town's Water Management Act permit and backed a phased program to replace and bring commercial water meters under town ownership to reduce water loss; approval was conditional on final town-council legal review.
The Select Board voted to approve a comprehensive rewrite of Westborough’s water regulations and to pursue a phased program that would transition commercial water meters to town ownership as part of a broader effort to reduce water loss and comply with the Water Management Act.
Public Works Director Chris Pant said the town’s current regulations were short and incomplete; the draft presented to the board expands the rules to roughly 40 pages to document cross-connection control, leak-detection procedures, meter testing and appeals, and other operational guidance required by DEP. "The regulations we have right now are really old... the regulations we have right now are about 3 pages," Pant said, noting the new document fills out required detail.
Pant explained the town’s water loss is above the permit target (currently over 20% vs. a <10% target) and that bringing larger, revenue-generating commercial meters under town ownership would let the town manage accuracy and leak detection more effectively. The proposed fee structure would calculate connection charges per bedroom for residential conversions (current $5,000 per unit would be apportioned to $1,250 per bedroom) and would revise commercial connection fees with redevelopment credits applied in many cases.
Board members pressed for clarity on implementation and cost-sharing with commercial property owners; Pant said specifics would be handled case-by-case, that the town has budgeted for meter replacement, and that replacement would be phased and communicated in advance. The board approved the regulations 4–0 with the condition that town council complete a final review and that any substantive legal changes return to the board for reconsideration.
Next steps include final town-council review, detailed property-level outreach and cost/credit negotiations with commercial meter owners, procurement planning for meter procurement and installation, and a phased timeline for commercial-first then residential meter work.
