Murky water dissuades Mattapoisett Town Meeting from approving new Water and Sewer Department building

MATTAPOISETT — With discolored, sediment-laden water flowing through the pipes of some Mattapoisett homes, residents asked the town to prioritize fixing pipes delivering water before building a new Water and Sewer Department building. 

Town Meeting shot down a proposal to borrow about $3 million to construct a new building on town-held property for the department at the Monday, Nov. 9 meeting. Voters were split on the proposal, and without a two-thirds majority the measure failed. 

Residents who opposed the project brought examples and photos of deep brown water and dirty filters from their homes and urged the town to make addressing their concerns a top priority. 

The proposed build would have used $800,000 from the Water/Sewer Fund and about $3 million in borrowed funds to cover the cost of the project. 

Department Superintendent Henri Renauld said taking out a loan to finance the project wouldn’t have raised the tax rate, instead pulling from surplus borrowing previously approved for projects that came in under budget.

Efforts to construct a new building have been ongoing, and the town has already received construction bids. 

The superintendent said the sooner the project is funded, the less money the town will spend on it. He pointed to rising costs of parts and labor, and said the pricetag for construction will only increase. 

“Do we need a building? Yes,” Renauld said. “If we wait, it’s going to cost more tomorrow than it is today.”

The department currently operates out of rented space, with a main building that lacks heating or bathrooms. He said his department needs a new building to efficiently operate. 

Matt Russo said he and his neighbors have had issues with their water for years and have spent thousands on filtration systems and replacing appliances quickly damaged by sediments.

“I struggle to understand how we can justify spending $4 million on a new Water (and Sewer) Department building while these issues remain unresolved,” Russo said. “I’m not here to criticize the water department or its employees. I am simply asking whether our priorities are in the right order.”

Renauld  said he inherited a 103-year-old water system when he became the superintendent in 2016. In the decade since, he said he’s been working to update old pipes and improve the quality of water delivered to homes in town. 

He said there are several pipe replacement projects in the works, and several neighborhoods have seen an improvement in their water. 

Jake Long brought a bottle of water from his faucet, dark enough that he compared it to a cup of coffee. 

“I assure you, this is not Dunkin’ cold brew,” he said. “We were paying for that water, yet there was no way we could put our child in it. It was literally money down the drain.”

All but one other question up for vote that night passed with little deliberation. 

Town Meeting approved of using funds saved through a grant for the Water Street culvert to fund renovation on the Highway Department building, accepting a new public way, funding road reconstruction, adding money to a Grant Matching Fund, paying off any previous obligations for Transfer Station and spending for several small projects.

Select Board member Jordan Collyer suggested indefinitely postponing a move to transfer oversight of Transfer Station from the Board of Health to the Select Board. He said he and others on the board had insufficient information on what that transfer would entail, and he believes the Highway Department would be better suited to handle the responsibility.

Town Meeting backed Collyer’s suggestion and approved of indefinitely postponing the issue.