Mayor floats water upgrades

Mayor Christopher Louras said the city can make progress on its ancient water lines without raising water rates and even more progress if it just raises them a little.

Rutland has roughly 30 miles of water mains that date back to the 19th century, with 3,400 feet on Woodstock Avenue that were laid in 1858. Many of those old pipes are smaller than modern standards call for and have degraded so they are effectively smaller than when they were installed.

Louras presented the Board of Aldermen on Monday with a memo from city engineer Evan Pilachowski that outlined a replacement strategy that could, depending how aggressively the board wants to pursue it, eventually update all the city’s outdated lines.

The memo outlined four options. The first was to do nothing. In the second, as bonds and other obligations expire, the money that had been used to repay them stays in the budget, but is instead put toward line replacement.

The third option builds on the second by instituting a 1 percent increase in the water rate for six years. The fourth is like the third, only with a 2 percent increase over five years.

None of the plans bring the system up to date any time soon, but option four leaves the city with 45 percent of its water mains beyond their useful lifespan by 2040 — compared to 74 percent if the city does nothing — and has them all up to date by 2110.

“My preference is number four,” Louras said Wednesday. “It’s the one that gets the city to a point, though 100 years from now, where none of our water infrastructure is beyond its useful life. More important, though, it is the most aggressive plan to replace the most decrepit and vulnerable water mains in the city.”

The city’s antebellum pipes were at the top of the priority list, which covers roughly four and a half miles and includes sections of Killington Avenue, Park Street, High Street, Engrem Avenue, Park Street, Wales Street, Pearl Street, Kingsley Avenue, Roberts Avenue, Water Street and Wood Avenue, among many others.

Louras said the aging pipes had implications for fire coverage and, as a result, the city’s insurance rating. He also said the oldest pipes were difficult to repair because they had a tendency to break even more in the process.

Louras tried to get a measure on the 2008 town meeting ballot instituting a permanent 8.8 percent surcharge on water bills to fund a 150-year replacement schedule. The board fell a vote short of the majority required to put the question on the ballot.

Board president David Allaire said Thursday he needed to review the proposal more before giving a firm opinion.

“Certainly it’s something we all realize has to be done,” he said. “It’s a question of how we fund it.”

Allaire said he was wary of burdening the taxpayers or ratepayers.

“I don’t know if we’ve looked under every rock as far as federal funding goes,” he said. “I know there’s been some effort in that direction, I’d like to see more.”

Alderwoman Sharon Davis said she opposed the mayor’s earlier proposal but, like Allaire, was still studying this one.

“I think the board’s well aware that we need to work on the infrastructure, but the board’s also aware the taxpayers need some relief and water and sewer users need some relief,” she said. “I’m open to be learning more about the proposal, what is the financial impact.”

gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com