Water rates are going up in FY2026, but not by more than they have been the past several years. And why are some people getting high water bills as a “catch-up?”

Much of Monday night’s City Council meeting revolved around water—how much people are using, how much the city is charging for it, and what projects need to be done to make the water better.

Steady as she goes

Newton Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux told the City Council Monday night that the combined water, sewer and stormwater rates would average a 3.9 percent increase, noting that when the city embarked on its bold water system renovation plan under Mayor Setti Warren, the administration pledged not to raise its combined water and sewer rates by more than 3.9 percent.

“I am happy to be able to tell you that, for more than a decade, we have been able to hold that promise,” she said.

That comes with a caveat. The number is for water, sewer and stormwater combined. And while all tiers of water and sewer rates will go up less than 3.9 percent, the stormwater rate will go up by 6.1 percent.

The stormwater enterprise fund has risen as a portion of the total money spent on water sewer and stormwater, now almost at 9 percent of the total.

The City Council unanimously approved the rate increases (with Councilor Andreae Downs recusing herself for the water and sewer ones but voting “yes” on the stormwater rate increase).

Director of Utilities Tom Fitzgerald gave a list of things the DPW would be working on related to water. For starters, the water meters replacement project is in the home stretch.

“We have replaced over 93 percent of the approximately 29,761 meters citywide and expect to complete this project by the end of the year,” Fitzgerald.

The city will also continue to remove lead-surfaced pipes and replace or reline 2.29 miles of water mains in the coming year, in addition to hydrant flushing and other maintenance.

Sewer relining in Waban, Oak Hill and Upper Falls will continue, and plans to do the same for the other part of Waban, Newton Highlands and Newton Corner are in the works.

Other things planned for FY2026 include upgrades to the Quinobequin, Eliot, Manet Road and Edgewater pump stations.

People living and working in those areas should keep a lookout for swamping, as groundwater that had been leaking into those older pipes now needs a place to go.

Speaking of water meters

Residents throughout the city have been reporting startlingly high water bills, citing a “catch-up” policy to collect money that’s owed from past bills that were too low. And City Council President Marc Laredo politely demanded answers.

“Everyone’s being billed for the water that they consumed, that went through their meter,” Fitzgerald said. “Unfortunately, for a period of time, the meters weren’t reading, and usage changes. so when the new meters went in, there’s a catch-up bill. So that’s what I think a lot of the discussion’s about.”

Laredo asked if the city had taken in less money than it should have for many years by under-billing. Fitzgerald said it was his “gut feeling” that that’s the case. Lemieux said it’s “probably true, more so in the last two or three years than in years prior.”

Laredo said that needed to be communicated more accurately to the public.

“And what we’re really saying is we’re making up a shortfall in what we should have collected now that we have new meters in place. Is that accurate?” Laredo asked.

“It’s accurate for each individual homeowner,” Lemieux replied. “So we’re not looking to make up a shortfall in total. It’s only if a particular homeowner paid less than they should have because we didn’t realize how much water they were using.”

Newton COO Jonathan Yeo said the city hadn’t been collecting money on irrigation meters that were installed but not registered with the city.

“So there were cases where people were using city water—they didn’t have a well—for irrigation systems and were not being billed for several years,” Yeo said. “We’ve now caught up with them, and they have to pay for the water they used. That’s the only area where someone was using water and we weren’t collecting for a time, but that’s a little subset. Other than that, the estimated billing—you had winners and losers, depending on how the estimates were.”

“So if I looked at the bills for the city, collectively across everything, took out the irrigation water that was not billed, your statement is that it would be absolutely equal?” Laredo asked, showing the room that he’s an experienced attorney.

“Absolutely.”

Laredo asked Yeo to get the Council documentation to back that up, signaling that the water meter bills brouhaha has barely begun.