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Board hears water-loss figures and discusses cutoff notices, expired-card complaints and autopay
Summary
Staff reported January water loss at '38.6' (unit not specified) and provided multi-year usage graphs; board members debated whether to alter cutoff-notice policy after a complaint about an expired debit card led to service cutoff, and staff described existing text and email notifications and a fee for card payments.
The Water and Sewer Utility Board discussed a large reported water loss figure for January and debated the utility's cutoff-notice and payment options after public complaints.
Speaker 3 told the board, "Our water loss for January was 38.6," noting the figure was down from December and from the same period last year. He said he had provided graphs comparing gallons pumped to water loss and included wholesale usage over three fiscal years. The staff presentation identified 'Cascades' as the largest wholesale customer in 2025 and flagged a high-pressure line feeding a loop toward what the transcript records as 'Suffolk College' as a likely primary leak source.
Later, Speaker 1 raised a public complaint about a service cutoff caused by an expired debit card and asked the board to consider revising the cutoff-notice policy. Speaker 1 suggested possibly discontinuing card payments to reduce cutoffs, but cautioned against forcing all ratepayers to absorb added costs. Speaker 3 explained the utility already sends text and email notifications when bills are ready and when card autopay processes decline: "We send a text when the bills are ready ... If their card is on the tenth when we run the credit card autopay process, we get numerous calls ... My card was declined." He also confirmed there is a fee associated with card payments.
Staff said customers can set up bank-draft autopay through the web portal and that many customers prefer cards despite the fee. The board asked staff to consider whether to change the cutoff-notice mailing policy and to revisit the issue next month; no final policy change was decided in the meeting.
The transcript does not specify the unit for the '38.6' figure or provide a dollar amount for card fees; the board directed staff to review options and report back.
