Biddeford & Saco Water Company








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The Latest Biddeford & Saco
Water News
Updated August 9, 2010
Welcome to our web site. The site was created as an informational,
educational, and historical tool for our customers and the general
population. We intend to regularly update this page. Please let us know what
you like about the site, what you don’t like, and what’s missing.
Water Rates May Rise
Last year’s rainy summer,
an economy that has been very slow to recover, and federal stimulus spending
may impact area water bills sometime next year as the Company may have no
choice but to file a rate proposal with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
to seek a modest rate increase. The bad weather and bad economy combined last
year in a perfect storm to suppress water use, which automatically pulled the
Company’s revenues down. As we all know, the weather this year
has been much better, but this year’s good weather cannot make up for
all that was lost last year and the year before.
Federal stimulus spending also
spurred an unusually large number of road and infrastructure projects, mostly
during 2009. The company is required to deploy construction crews to help
local and state crews complete their work, by doing whatever is necessary for
the water system. That includes a variety of substantial tasks, such as
upgrading, relocating, or disconnecting and then reconnecting water lines and
services. When that happens, the Company is not compensated, nor did the
Company receive any stimulus monies. All while other costs, including water
quality components and medical insurance, continued to rise, and the Company’s
own planned upgrade projects remained to be completed.
If the Company does ask for a
rate adjustment, it will be for as little as possible, just enough to keep
the high standards the Company has for outstanding water quality. The
Company’s rates are among the lowest when compared with other water
utilities, and even with an increase, will keep that distinction. Even if the
Company does file a rate request, the application will not be filed until the
early winter of this year, and customers probably won’t see a change in
their bills until sometime in the late spring of 2011 at the earliest.
2009 Water Quality Report Now Available
Like
to know what’s in your drinking water? Or what’s not in your
water? Our 2009 Water Quality Reports will tell you. The 2009 report was
mailed to all of our customers earlier this spring and is also available for
viewing online here on our website in the ‘water information’
section through this link 2009
Water Quality Report. If you would like to have a hard copy of our 2009
report, or any of our reports from prior years, simply call our office at
282-1543, and we will promptly respond.
Empty Barrels
We have lots of empty food-safe barrels. We would be glad to give these
away to anyone who would like one (or more) to use for whatever reason. Each
barrel has one or two 2-in. threaded openings in one end, and the other end
is solid; however, we would be glad to cut the top off the barrel for you if
that would make the barrel a better fit for your plans. If interested, just
call our treatment plant at 282-9141.
We Now Offer Direct Payment!
We are pleased to offer a new service - The Direct Payment Plan. Now you
can have your payment made automatically from your checking or savings
account. There is no extra charge to become part of the program. You will
still receive a bill showing the amount that you owe, and when it will be
withdrawn from your account, which will be at least three weeks after the
billing date. If you have a question or concern with your bill, simply call
us when you receive the bill to discuss. If you would like to take advantage
of this free new service, either send us an email at info@biddefordsacowater.com or
give us a call at (207) 282-1543 and ask us to send you a blank authorization
form, or simply click here if
you would like to print a copy of the blank authorization form now.
New Vehicles for Meter Readers
You may notice our meter readers in your neighborhood driving a small car
instead of the more traditional little blue or red pickup truck. The new cars
will have our water drop decals on the doors to identify them, and are considerably
more fuel efficient than the pickups. We have purchased one car already, a
light blue Chevrolet Aveo, and expect to put a second car on the road later
this year.
New Saco River & Adjacent Wetland Crossing
We recently completed the installation of a new
transmission main across the Saco River. The new main parallels an existing
main, and enhances the reliability of our system by providing back-up for
this critical and difficult to repair pipe. In order to minimize the
environmental impact of construction, the new main was installed using
directional drilling techniques, which only required excavation at the start
and end of the new main. A hole was bored between the start and end points;
the new pipe was then pulled into place. And there’s more good news,
installation of the second parallel transmission main is now being continued
from the end of the new Saco River crossing main across a wetland area
immediately adjacent to the River. The wetland crossing is being completed
using construction techniques similar to those used to complete the river
crossing. The funds necessary for both projects were made available through a
state revolving loan fund, which was set up to provide money for such
projects at a low interest rate.
Water Conservation
We have a supply of conservation kits that can help reduce
water use in your home. The kits include a low flow showerhead, two faucet
aerators, and a weir that can be placed to reduce the amount of water used
each time a toilet is flushed. The cost for each kit picked up in our office
is eight dollars ($8.00). If you can’t come to our office, we would be
glad to mail one or more kit(s) out to you if; postage and handling costs are
four dollars for the first kit and one dollar for each additional kit in the same
request. Simply send us a check for the number of kits you want and we will
mail them along to you.
Saco River Watershed Monitoring Program
A few years ago, the Saco River Corridor Commission initiated a water
quality monitoring program. For the last few open water seasons, volunteers
have monitored various water quality parameters at over twenty locations
along the Saco, Ossipee, and Little Ossipee Rivers. Each of these three
rivers is located within the Saco River Basin. The basin covers an area of 1,700
square miles in total. The data gathered through this process will establish
a water quality baseline for the entire watershed. If anyone is interested in
becoming a volunteer and participating in the valuable program, please
contact the Saco River Corridor
Commission.
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