The cost of building is about to go up a few hundred dollars per water and sewer connection in Ayer.
The Rate Review Committee is recommending the Select Board raise the cost of water and sewer connections on March 17th, when the board meets to approve the FY2027 water and sewer usage rates and the stormwater fee. The committee voted on this at the Feb. 10th meeting.
Water and sewer connection fees are typically one-time charges for connecting properties to the town’s water or sewer system. Developers are often charged connection fees. But these fees can also impact homeowners. For example, if a homeowner has a failing septic system and needs to tie into the town’s sewer system.
The Select Board last raised connection fees in 2021 and 2023 (Source: Select Board Meeting video, March 27, 2023). In 2023, the water connection fee went up $300 and the sewer connection fee rose by $600.
This year, the Rate Review Committee has recommended raising the water connection fee by $300, from $4,800 to $5,100 and the sewer connection fees by $375, from $6,000 to $6,375. Fees are typically based on the Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) for the estimated cost to provide water and sewer service for a single family, 3-bedroom house (365 gpd water and 330 gpd wastewater).
The DPW and Water & Sewer Superintendent recommended the increases in a memo dated Jan. 22, 2026, saying the proposed fees have been calculated in part to include upcoming capital costs such as:
- Treatment media replacements
- New well source construction
- Water storage maintenance at the water supplies
- Inflow/Infiltration removal in the sewer collection system