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Somerville officials say MWRA delay could raise sewer rates by multiples
Summary
City officials discussed the draft Combined Sewer Overflow plan and said the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority delayed its vote to December; implementing a higher-control option pushed by watershed groups could raise Somerville sewer rates several-fold, officials said.
Councilor Jake Wilson, chair of the Somerville City finance committee, opened a discussion of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) draft Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) plan on Nov. 19 and invited Rich Raich, director of Infrastructure and Asset Management, to answer questions.
Raich told the committee the MWRA board postponed its vote until December after advocacy groups including the Charles River Watershed Association and Mystic River Watershed Association urged a higher level of control than the plan currently recommends. "They have been very vocal in their desire for a higher level of control," Raich said, and the board has delayed its vote to allow for more consideration and follow-up by the technical team.
Raich said the cost implications for Somerville could be large. He described the recommended plan as potentially producing about a threefold increase in sewer rates for Somerville ratepayers, and said a higher-control alternative could increase rates "anywhere from 4 to 7 times," depending on the final negotiated cost share. He cautioned the numbers depend on negotiations and the MWRA board’s eventual decision.
Councilors used the discussion to register political and fiscal concerns. One councilor noted the difficulty of adopting steep rate increases under the current City Council, and another expressed disappointment that state-level decisions contributed to the current local burden. Wilson emphasized the presentation was for feedback and that no formal committee action was required; the committee marked the matter "work completed" for now, noting MWRA’s timeline could require a short extension of local deadlines if the board’s process slips.
Why it matters: Somerville would face materially higher sewer bills if the MWRA and state regulatory process moves toward a more stringent and expensive level of control. The city has previously passed a council resolution clarifying Somerville’s negotiation stance; officials said that resolution guides ongoing discussions. The MWRA board’s December decision and any subsequent DEP timelines will determine the final obligations and whether Somerville must file for additional time or adjust budgets.
Next steps: Raich said the technical team is finalizing report writing and the MWRA board’s vote in December will be the next formal milestone; city staff warned the committee the city might need to request an extension from the state Department of Environmental Protection if the schedule requires it.
