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Springfield Water And Sewer Commission Proposes 5.9% Rate Hike

a man standing in front of a large water reservoir
Paul Tuthill
/
WAMC

   A quarter million water-users in western Massachusetts could soon pay more when they turn on the tap.

   The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission is proposing new rates that would increase the typical residential customer’s bill by $6 a month beginning July 1st.

    After an almost 10 percent  rate hike last year,  that was sharply criticized by elected officials, the commission got long term low interest loans from the federal and state governments to pay for infrastructure upgrades. The financing is expected to save ratepayers millions.

   WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Josh Schimmel, the commission’s Executive Director.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.
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