So what’s going on in Great Barrington with the water supply?
For years, people living in the village of Housatonic – a post-industrial community along the river of the same name just north of Great Barrington proper — have been dealing with dirty water. The company that supplies it, Housatonic Water Works, has long been at the center of local outcry over the situation. When people turn on their taps, they’re not getting the clear, clean water most of us expect. Rather, it’s discolored and unfit for drinking, washing dishes, laundry, and many of the basic functions people expect from their water supply. The town has spent a lot of time debating how to handle the situation, and just this fall officially made a formal offer to buy the privately owned company in an effort to overhaul it and correct the longstanding problems. While Great Barrington has declined to comment on the size of the offer, citing ongoing negotiations, the water works have been valued at around $2.3 million.
Tell us about the reimbursement program — who can take advantage of it and how?
The program comes from state money set aside by the Massachusetts legislature in 2024, but this new development is a significant increase in exactly how much money people dealing with the dirty water can expect to receive from the government. I spoke with Great Barrington selectboard chair Stephen Bannon about this to find out more:
“Any resident of Housatonic or Great Barrington who has Housatonic Water Works is eligible for up to $1,500 in reimbursement for in-home water filters, for the purchases of water, bottle water, for laundry facilities. They only proviso is that they have to have receipts. That's a state provision. This money came from the state, was an earmark, and what we're trying to do right now is to make sure as many people in Housatonic with Housatonic Water Works receive this money. So, originally we had offered $600 a person. We actually started at $300, then $600. We're now saying you can get total up to $1,500 reimbursement. So, we're hoping that people who are inconvenienced, and that's using that term loosely, people who really have problems, will take advantage of this. The state gave us $250,000 and we want to spend it all, and it needs to be spent by the end of 2026.”
The town estimates that around 226 households of the roughly 800 that use Housatonic Water Works have already taken advantage of the program and received around $80,000 in reimbursements to date. With the expansion of the cap to $1,500, even those who have already gotten money through the program can come back for reimbursements up to that new limit.
What’s next for the community?
Well, we’ll have to see what happens with Great Barrington’s bid to buy the water works and then actually go through the process of solving whatever is causing the water it delivers to be tainted. Until then, Bannon says there are a couple avenues of recourse for folks saddled with the dirty tap water:
“There's a private group that's running a campaign to raise money to make sure everyone in Housatonic who needs it has a water filter. So we're offering $1,500, if this group is able to raise money, there'll be more money available for the citizens of Housatonic. At the very least, as many people as we can provide water filters to would be wonderful, because it's not the silver bullet, but it's a good interim step.”
Voters in Great Barrington declined a citizen-driven effort to see the town buy both the water works and the fire district that serves the community at a special town meeting in April to give the select board time and space to pursue its own plan to address the crisis.
