BIDDEFORD — Maine Water Company has filed a request with the Maine Public Utilities Commission for a rate increase for each of the next three years for its Biddeford-Saco division, primarily to pay for a new water treatment facility on South Street, replacing a plant built in 1884.

The filing with the Public Utilities Commission on March 10 pegs the total proposed rate increase at 77.50 percent, increasing revenues by about $6.6 million. Maine Water Company has asked the PUC for permission for a “rate smoothing mechanism,” which spreads the increase over three years. The proposed increases are 26.05 percent effective in July; 20.23 percent in July 2022; and 17.12 percent in July 2023 and would apply to all customers, whether residential, commercial, industrial or  public authorities.

If approved by the PUC as proposed, the increase means the average residential customer will pay water fees of about 20 cents more per day, or $6 more per month, in each of the next three years, said Maine Water Company President Richard Knowlton.

After the last of the three annual proposed rate increases, the average residential customer would pay about $1.37 per day for 125 gallons of water, Knowlton estimated, which works out to about $500 annually. The last rate increase was in 2017, which resulted in a typical cost of 73 cents a day, or $265 annually, to a residential customer using the same daily amount.

A proposed surcharge in the first year and a bill credit the following year are taken into account in the proposed percentage increases.

The new, $53 million water treatment  facility, currently under construction, will replace the 137-year-old plant near the Saco River. It is poised to go online around mid-2022.

The company’s Biddeford-Saco Division serves approximately 16,200 customers in Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, and the Pine Point area of Scarborough, a population of more than 40,000. It is the largest of Maine Water’s 10 Maine divisions.

Knowlton said independent engineering studies of the old plant, situated in the Saco River floodplain, showed building a new facility would be more cost effective than attempting to rehabilitate the 1884 treatment plant, which was last renovated in 1936 and has experienced shutdowns due to flooding over the years.

“This rate case is really about our challenge to address aging infrastructure,” said Knowlton. Planning for the new water treatment facility began five years ago.

“It really is a generational investment,” said Knowlton. He said the company delayed the rate filing “as long as it could” because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Maine Public Advocate Barry Hobbins said his office will thoroughly scrutinize the proposal.

“We represent the ratepayers and we’ll put them through their paces,” said Hobbins. “We anticipated a rate increase; I’m a little surprised at the number. The burden is on Maine Water to prove their case, and we’ll make sure they prove it.”

Maine Water Company made presentations to the city and town councils of the impacted municipalities, as well as state legislators and others in the months before the filing.

“Everyone said it is too big a bite in one step,” said Knowlton, hence the three-year plan.

“It’s a big jump for users, but the area needed a new, modern plant, as the old facility was tired, inefficient, and in need of significant repair,” said Biddeford Mayor Alan Casavant in response to a request for comment. “Infrastructure on this scale is not cheap, nor is the production of clean water. I think that the new rate will force us all to conserve in order to better fit our budgets.”

Saco Mayor William Doyle agreed.

“The increased fees will take some getting used to for many, and be problematic for some who are fixed incomes, but in order to have the safest water possible the public infrastructure has to be updated and maintained,” said Doyle. “Like with many other things in life, in order to balance the increase, we will all have to become better consumers when it comes to using the water.”

Casavant said in an era of climate change, moving the plant away from the floodplain makes sense.

“All communities will have to investigate, improve, and invest in infrastructure to combat climate change and other challenges,” said Doyle.

The PUC has several months from the proposed effective date of the first increase to render a decision — in this case until March 2022. The length of time it will take to decide can vary,  depending on the complexity of the case and the number of parties involved, said PUC media liaison Susan Faloon.

“(Maine Water) will be sending a letter to all of its customers explaining that any person directly affected by the rate increase may file a petition to intervene in the proceeding, and provide instructions on how to do that,” said Faloon. “Customers may always (and should) contact the Office of the Public Advocate if they have questions.”

Consumers can view documents associated with the case at: https://www.maine.gov/mpuc/

Maine Water Company, owned by the San Jose Water Group since 2019, purchased the former Biddeford and Saco Water Company nearly a decade ago. Knowlton said San Jose Water Group has already invested $10 million in its 10 Maine divisions. He said San Jose Water Group has the equity to fund the water treatment facility.

Knowlton acknowledged the rate increase request is hefty — hence the plan to spread it out over three years.

“This most important piece of this is to know we are working to make the system reliable, safe and resilient,” said Knowlton.

Maine Water Company customers who would like more information about how the proposed rate increase plan would affect their water bill should contact customer service at (207) 282-1543 or 1-800-287-1643.

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