Nantucket Sewer Rates Set To Increase By 15 Percent

The town of Nantucket is set to increase base sewer rates by 15 percent. The increase comes a year after the Select Board adopted a plan last July to raise rates and establish tiers that charge more for higher usage, but most users will only see a modest increase in their bills this year.

Around 70 percent of users will see an increase of between $5 and $10 in their monthly bills, according to an estimate from the sewer department. High-volume users will see larger increases.

Former town Finance Director Brian Turbitt said that the increase is needed to help cover the high costs of operating the town’s sewer system.

“We do have to be able to manage and operate a sewer system, and those are very expensive to operate,” Turbitt said.

The base rate charged by the town includes 100 cubic feet of usage at the smallest meter size. For the smallest meter size, rates are jumping from $50 to $57.50. For the largest meter size, which includes 1,700 cubic feet, the cost will go from $850 to $977.50.

In addition to the base rates charged to users, the tiers adopted last year are also increasing in price by 3.5 percent, starting at $10.50 per hundred cubic feet for low usage rates and capping at $17.50 per hundred cubic feet for high-volume users. Islanders who use less than 100 cubic feet won’t be impacted by these changes.

The increased rates are expected to net the town a little over $950,000 in additional revenue this year. The goal is to fund about 60 percent of related expenses through the sewer rates.

Turbitt said that the tiered rates have “been successful” so far. The rates may change slightly as a result of conversations with the water department before they are implemented in September.