LWSC to seek hike of 2 pct.

LYNN – Stable water consumption rates are likely to translate into a $16-17 rate increase for the average water consumer, or roughly a 2 percent hike.”We’ve controlled expenses and consumption from last year to this year is fairly stable,” said Water and Sewer Commission Executive Director Daniel O’Neill.The commission holds a public hearing on the increase June 3 prior to a commission vote on the hike.The hike, if it is approved by the five commissioners, will be in line with the $15 to $22, or about 2.5 percent, increase in water and sewer costs approved last June by the commission.Residential water customers use about 7,000 to 10,000 cubic feet of water annually and last year’s increase meant ratepayers paid $621 to $888 for water and sewer service depending on their use rate.A 2 percent rate would be one of the lowest approved by the commission in recent years.The combined rate has climbed from $2.58 in 1987 to $5.10 in 1997 with rate hikes remaining under 5 percent annually between 1997 and 2004. Rates climbed by 14 percent in 2006 and then 11 percent in 2007 as declining consumption and the loss of major business customers prompted the commission to boost rates.Despite those increases, Lynn water rates compare favorably to many surrounding communities relying on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority for service. Nahant residents paid more than $1,000 for water last year while Peabody residents paid less than $600 two years ago.Health care and energy costs have been major past expenses for the commission, but successful efforts to negotiate lower rates with insurance providers and utilities have helped reduce these costs.Debt is always a significant expense for the commission with a major project to separate storm and sewer drain lines still unfinished. With a federal mandate to end discharges of partially treated sewer into the ocean looming this year, the commission needs to obtain federal and state environmental approval to finish building a separate storm drain and sewage pipe system.The commission is years ahead of many communities in Massachusetts in terms of CSO compliance, but major construction on local separation projects stalled in 2004 when the commission fired contractor USFilter.That decision ended up in court and legal costs associated with the firing are projected to total $500,000 this year and another half million in 2009.