April 6, 2019 by Edna English
- Control of the water resource: WE WON’T have control. The Department of Environmental Protection controls the resource. The Selectmen will control the rates, and ratepayers will lose the protection of the Department of Public Utilities that acts as a consumer protection agency regulating rates, preventing unnecessary expenditures, and enforcing maintenance of the underground pipe infrastructure.
- Half the dollar you spend on water goes to investors and company overhead, etc. Under the proposed acquisition plan, even more of that dollar will go to investor/bondholders; the sub-contracting water management company will have overhead and profit; and the Town will take on additional overhead in the form of salaries, benefits, and retirements.
- Financial savings: Unsupported statement based on hopeful assumptions. There is no business plan. No potential water management company responded to the Town’s RFQ (Request for Quote) with firm figures. No prudent investor would take this risk with so little information.
- Infrastructure maintenance and replacement will not compete with schools and public safety: Yes, it will, in our opinion. How can it be otherwise? The acquisition plan proposes to spend $2 million a year on water infrastructure. When Town Meeting has a choice between a school and underground pipes, which will it choose? We’ve seen this problem played out in other towns, to very bad effect.
Hingham Citizens, as wise and prudent investors, should vote NO on the purchase plan, and demand the Town present a reality-based business plan before asking Town Meeting to burden taxpayers with this extraordinary and unnecessary debt, the largest ever in Hingham’s history, for little or no gain.
- Edna English
I respectfully disagree. Unfortunately the DPU does not do much either to control Hingham’s high water rates—which going forward include a surcharge to quickly compensate Aquarion for investments in underground pipe infrastructure—all to enable a ROI for the shareholders. And it is simply incorrect to suggest that owning the water company will compete with investments for schools. The Selectmen’s presentation specifically addresses this misleading allegation.Here is link to recording by Harbor Media: https://youtu.be/P4_E8kyLdC4
– Eileen McIntyre
Edna is on the letterhead of the Pro-Aquarion website – called “Keep Aquarion”. Aquarion is spending MILLIONS trying to buy Hingham’s Town Meeting in order to prevent public ownership of our water supply. We have never, ever seen this kind of money spent on a Town Meeting article. It is very troubling.This money is being spent for the monopolist through its’ lobbying firm – “Next Generation Strategies” – which is apparently guaranteeing a victory: As it brags on its website – “From crafting the strategy, to executing the approach, we help our clients shift the views of opinion leaders, elected officials, media, and the general public. No one shapes and manages opinions – and outcomes – like we do.”
Hingham folks – this is simply astonishing. Below is a list of the communities and number of customers served by a privately owned water company in Massachusetts. We do not need Aquarion to sell us our own water at a profit!
Andrews Farm Water Company: 52 customers
Agawam Springs Water Company: 3 customers
Aquaria Water Company: 1 customer
Aquarion Water Company: 19,289 customers
Ashmere Water Supply: 27 customers
Colonial Water Company: 585 customers
East Northfield Water Company: 339 customers
Granville Water Company: 34 customers
Housatonic Water Works: 858 customers
Hutchinson Water Company: 123 customers
Kings Grant Water Company: 149 customers
Milford Water Company: 8,919 customers
Monterey Water Company: 72 customers
Pinehills Water Company: 1,844 customers
Plymouth Water Company: 821 customers
Sheffield Water Company: 482 customers
Westport Harbor Aqueduct Company: 54 customers
Whitinsville Water Company: 2,253 customers
Over 96% of MA residents are serviced by a publicly owned water system. If they can do it, we can do it.
It is strange indeed for any Hingham citizen to make common cause with an out-of-state corporate monopolist rather than with the leaders of the Town on such an important matter for us, our children and our grandchildren. As Selectman Karen Johnson recently observed: “From day one, Aquarion’s objective has been to prevent the town from exercising its right to acquire the water company. I’ve found it distressing that their tactics have been to contest, confuse, delay, and to interfere with the town’s orderly evaluation of this proposal. Make no mistake, Aquarion’s sole concern in all of this is the best financial interest of Aquarion.”
Edna – I urge you to read the comment just posted here by Mark Cullings, captioned: “IT’S OUR WATER!” If this doesn’t convince you to leave the “Aquarion team” and come over to the “Town of Hingham team” then I guess nothing will!