Warren water and sewer board votes to raise sewer rate to $770

Water · Meeting of May 19, 2026

Warren water and sewer commissioners raise the annual sewer rate to $770, about an 8-percent monthly bump. The unanimous vote followed a public hearing that drew no comment, closing on a fiscal 2027 sewer budget of $959,870 that commissioners said outpaces roughly $100,000 a year the department typically banks in reserves. Commissioners said a bar rack replacement at the wastewater treatment plant alone would take five to seven years to fund at current savings, and cited an outside rate study and comparisons to similarly sized Massachusetts and Connecticut sewer systems billing more than double Warren's rates.

"To hurt ourselves financially and put us in a position that, you know, we're going to see fights again with the DEP" was the risk of underpricing, one commissioner said. The board also approved a rewritten sewer connection permit requiring as-built drawings within 30 days of new connections.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 689 words

Source: the Water meeting of May 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.