Berwick trustees and administrator outline planned plant upgrade, explain rates and billing system

The Town of Berwick board on Monday heard a workshop‑style briefing from the sewer district trustees and administrator about rates, billing, plant capacity and a planned upgrade.

Jay Wheeler, the sewer district administrator, and trustees answered questions about why the district charges a flat quarterly rate and how it assigns ‘equivalent dwelling units’ for commercial customers. Trustee Ken Hall said the district’s most recent rate survey shows Berwick’s charges are lower than many neighboring communities and that the data “basically shows us that we need to raise our rates” to meet budget and treatment needs.

Why it matters: The district is preparing a multi‑year capital upgrade and must balance customer affordability with regulatory and infrastructure demands. Trustees said they have begun engineering work and financing for a plant upgrade with USDA involvement and that the project includes about $1,000,000 in grant funding to offset costs.

How customers are billed: Trustees explained the district uses a flat quarterly charge per household and an equity buy‑in fee for new connections. As Ken Hall put it, the buy‑in “reserves your place in the district” and feeds capital reserves for growth; the buy‑in is calculated by a formula tied to the district’s net assets and planned improvements. Commercial customers are converted into EDUs — the district uses a local standard of 152 gallons per day as one EDU — and billing and infrastructure sizing follows that conversion.

On consumption‑based billing: Board members asked whether the district could move to water‑use (consumption) billing. Trustees said the district studied consumption billing about a decade ago and rejected it because of data‑collection costs, technical complexity and equity concerns. “We did look at that in 2016,” a trustee said, and the board chose to retain the current approach.

Permits, nitrogen limits and regional work: Trustees described a recent permit renewal and new responsibilities to reduce nitrogen discharges. The district joined the Municipal Alliance for Adaptive Management to coordinate regional science and regulatory work aimed at Great Bay and eelgrass recovery; the alliance requires dues and shared reporting.

Capacity and timeline: Trustees said the plant’s permitted capacity is large (reported as about 1,100,000 gallons per day) but that the current process uses only a portion of that capacity because of how the tanks and treatment runs are configured. Planned work includes reconfiguring tank runs, adding pumps, mixers and other equipment. Trustees said they hope the USDA project will add needed capacity within a multi‑year timeframe.

Hardship and exemptions: Board members asked about relief for seniors and other customers in temporary hardship. Trustees said the board can consider case‑by‑case relief and noted properties officially deemed uninhabitable are not billed while they remain uninhabitable.

Communication and next steps: Several board members pressed the trustees to make rate sheets, EDU tables and other guidance easier to find online and to schedule regular joint workshops so town officials can better direct residents to the right contacts. Trustees agreed to try to institutionalize a periodic update and said they will place two pending trustee reappointments on the next meeting agenda for formal action.

What’s next: Trustees said they will continue engineering and financing work for the plant upgrade, post clearer rate and EDU information online, and meet again with the town board at a time to be scheduled. The sewer district will bring the Stephanie and Ken reappointments back at the next annual meeting for formal consideration.