By Carol Britton Meyer

The Weir River Water System will not raise rates in fiscal year 2024, which was part of the good news shared by Managing Director/Superintendent Russell Tierney during an update to the Board of Water Commissioners Tuesday night.

In related news, Tierney reported that for the first time since WRWS began operating the system, “the revenue collected has exceeded the billings, an indicator that we are collecting past due accounts,” an effort that will continue to stabilize finances.

The system was formerly operated by Aquarion Water Company before it transitioned to public ownership under the Town of Hingham in July 2020. The Hingham Select Board serves as the water commissioners.

WRWS is exploring the possibility of installing a new metering system that will also help track unaccounted-for water (UAW) and monitor violations of watering restrictions.

“The expectation is to reduce UAW to under 10%, resulting in reduced operation and maintenance costs,” Tierney said during an earlier update.

WRWS is asking a consultant “to perform an evaluation of the current metering system,” he explained. “This will provide us with important information on the cost and process of moving from a radio-read to a fixed-network system.”

While Tierney said that while he was happy overall with the way watering restrictions went this year during the severe drought, “we want to stay on top of how we can better implement water bans.”

Also in the works are enhancements to the security systems at the water treatment plant and remote locations, such as wells, and consideration of hybrid/electric vehicle options for the WRWS fleet.

Included in the WRWS proposed fiscal 2024 budget is a request for a new assistant water superintendent position at a salary of $95,000.

“We’re already paying $160,000 a year for outside inspection [services], and this individual [if the new position is approved] would perform those inspections as well as other tasks, freeing me up to focus on [the proposed] Strawberry Hill water storage tank and booster pumping station,” Tierney said.

He also outlined some of the work performed by the operations and maintenance staff annually.

This includes treating and distributing more than 1.2 billion gallons of water; maintaining more than 190 miles of water mains and 10 water sources, including Accord Pond; inspecting and maintaining 917 fire hydrants systemwide; and conducting a biannual systemwide flushing program, among other tasks.

Key initiatives, Tierney explained, include improving water quality by implementing preventive maintenance and water main replacement programs, making treatment plant and equipment upgrades, updating and improving GIS mapping, and developing a capital study report.

The overall WRWS mission is to provide “outstanding service to our customers in Hingham, Hull, and North Cohasset while continuously supplying the highest-quality water and improving the water system infrastructure,” Tierney said.