MIDDLEBORO — Fixed water costs for Middleboro residents and businesses will be raised in 2024 after the Select Board approved a new structure for water and sewer rates that will go into effect on Jan. 1.

At the Select Board’s Dec. 18 meeting, Raftelis, a utility management consulting firm, shared a completed rate study focusing on Middleboro’s water expenses and revenue.

According to Raftelis Senior Manager Toby Fedder, Middleboro is set to spend over $100 million in water capital investment through 2033.

One purpose of the rate study is to recommend rates that will generate adequate revenue for the town’s water and sewer enterprise funds, according to the slideshow presented by Fedder at the meeting.

Two different scenarios were presented to the Select Board, titled “Scenario 1” and “Scenario 2”.

Select Board members Brian Giovanoni and Thomas White voted in favor of “Scenario 2”, while Select Board member Neil Rosenthal voted against it. Select Board Chair Mark Germain abstained from the vote.

“Sewage is insolvent. In two years water will be insolvent. Why? Because we haven’t raised rates. Not something that I want to do, but it’s something that has to be done,” said Giovanoni.

Scenario 2, which passed and was officially entered into town record, calls for a 7.5% annual increase of fixed minimum rates over the next five years.

Middleboro’s water service charges customers a fixed quarterly rate as well as volumetric charges based on how much water is used.

Volumetric rates will increase “as needed” to provide revenue targets under Scenario 2, according to Raftelis’ presentation.

In Middleboro, the first 5 CCF are free, then a tiered system is used for determining volumetric rates. According to Fedder, one reason volumetric rates are used is to promote conservation.

In the current system, the most expensive volume based water rate is the fourth tier, which was previously made up of customers using 250 CCF or higher quarterly. Scenario 2 will push more customers into the fourth tier by altering the range of the third tier of volumetric charges from 25-250 CCF used per quarter to 25-75 CCF used per quarter. 1 CCF is equal to 748 gallons of water.

Fedder said that if the third tier was not “shrunk,” rates of all tiers would go up by a greater amount.

Rosenthal noted that business owners and larger users would be most affected by the changes to the tier structure.

“With the changes we are discussing, more of the revenue generation will indeed shift to larger users,” said Fedder.

Based on statistics provided by Raftelis, an average family of 4 uses 22.5 CCF each quarter. With Scenario 2, the quarterly water bill for that family would rise 10.9% in 2024 compared to a 13% increase in Scenario 1. For an average “very large user” who uses 500 CCF each quarter, Scenario 2 will result in a 33.3% increase in quarterly water bills in 2024, compared to a 29% increase in Scenario 1.

“This is about what is doing what is right, and doing what is fair,” said Giovanoni.