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Rate Increase May Be On Tap For Crestwood Water Co.
By Lauren Puglisi
Last Thursday at the Keswick Auditorium in Whiting, over 400 Manchester residents attended a public meeting to discuss a proposed rate increase from Crestwood Water Co.
Crestwood Village Water and Sewer Departments are proposing a 71 percent increase in their water rate. If granted, the bill for a customer using 10,000 gallons of water per quarter will be $217.44 rather than last year's price of $126.92.
If approved, this increase would be the third from Crestwood Water Co. in 24 years.
Councilman Brendan Weiner said the primary reason for the increase is because the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would not grant the water company a higher water allocation, i.e. they were not permitted to draw more water from the ground. Without a higher water allocation, the company was forced to expand its infrastructure.
"The DEP required the water company to drill another well in another aquifer to allocate more water. This was at a cost of $4.7 million," Weiner said.
Thursday's meeting served as the first step towards answering Crestwood's rate increase questions. Joining local residents and members of the governing body were representatives from the three major parties involved, Crestwood Water, the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel and the Board of Public Utilities.
Residents were urged to air their thoughts on the issue; their public input would then be entered as evidence for the company's rate hike application. Opinions regarding mismanagement of water company funds and concerns for seasonal homeowners who go to Florida for the winter were discussed.
Weiner said his main concern is based on the demographic information from the Census Bureau, which finds that many of Manchester's residents who will be hit with the proposed increases are retired and are living on a fixed income.
"Most of these residents' only sources of income may range from a pension, Social Security or nothing at all," Weiner said. "Even the slightest increase will have a dramatic impact on the residents in the area, which will require residents to make a complete lifestyle change and may have terrible consequences."
According to Thomas R. O'Gara, the general manager of Crestwood Water Co., the issues regarding the rate increase began in 1999 when the DEP initially approved water application increases for Crestwood's original water well.
O'Gara said, in January 2003, environmental concerns were raised about the increase of water being pumped from the original aquifer.
"Environmental committees said there would be a detrimental impact to the township's wetlands, stream flows and endangered species if Manchester continued to use one aquifer," O'Gara said. "The only viable solution was to construct a new well; the current increase has been designated to recover the costs associated with building and operating the new plant."
The proposed rate increase will not go into effect unless the Board of Public Utilities approves it, which officials say can take up to five months.
O'Gara said the Division of Rate Counsel would be examining the financial documents submitted for the rate increase and will hold evidentiary meetings that are currently scheduled for April 7, 14 and 16 in Trenton.
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