Norwell Considers Higher Fees for Excessive Water Use

Some Norwell residents are facing water bills exceeding $10,000 per quarter due to high irrigation usage, prompting town officials to consider additional surcharges or penalties for excessive consumption. The discussion arose at a recent Norwell Advisory Board meeting as part of the Water Department’s budget review.

Norwell currently uses a tiered pricing structure to encourage conservation, but officials say the highest tier—intended to discourage excessive use—has little impact on some residents.

"Actually, the purpose of the tier four we thought would punish people for using the water," said Frederick H. St. Ours, Chair of the Water Department. "But it just turns out there are some people who don’t care."

Officials are now exploring whether a drought-based surcharge or other penalties could further curb excessive use, particularly during dry summer months.

"There has been discussion, we've had discussions about doing a drought level tier four," said Jason Federico, Water Superintendent. "Where, say we get to a point where we're in major water restrictions and we have real problem of having another level where we could say as of July 1st there's a new tier four for this year because we're in a drought level condition."

"If you continue to water from this point forward, you're going to pay a different rate," Federico added.

While some residents are unconcerned about the cost, others believe additional penalties could help reduce overall water demand and ensure sustainability.

"Would it be possible to institute a temporary surcharge over a certain amount?" asked Bob Howard, Advisory Board Member. "Not a rate change, but a surcharge?"

Federico acknowledged that implementing a surcharge could help, but noted that high usage is not always due to irrigation.

"You get to that weird fine line though too of people that—because we've had people that come in and they get into those higher tiers just by the number of people that live in their house," Federico said. "So it's that you have to go almost case by case and determine does this person just have their parents and four teenage boys living in the house and therefore their water bill is in the top tier, versus somebody that's watering their lawn willy-nilly in the top tier."

Norwell officials are expected to continue discussions on potential policy changes ahead of the upcoming town meeting.

To watch the full video of the meeting, visit Norwell Spotlight TV.

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