Officials To Mull Outsourcing Water and Sewer Work

A presentation from a company interested in contracting for town water and sewer services piqued selectmen’s interest and raised questions last week.

The board and town administrator will spend the next few weeks reviewing the WhiteWater Inc. presentation and a booklet it provided them on its sewer/water operations.

The key question is whether outsourcing the work would result in better services at a lower cost. Officials expect to decide in the coming weeks whether this is an option they want to continue to investigate and pursue.

The presentation was preliminary and provided little hard information on costs and potential savings.

The presentation came from Russell Tierney, a manager of WhiteWater Inc. 

WhiteWater is a division of RH White, of Auburn, MA, specializing in construction for utilities in New England.

Tierney said WhiteWater, which has 74 employees and about 400 contracts, brings expertise to the table in managing and operating sewer and water systems, as well as navigating ever-changing regulatory requirements.

They typically contract with municipalities for a fee based on the extent of their responsibilities which can be as complete as a full turnkey operation including fixing breaks.

They also hire about 90 percent of the employees who were doing the work previously for the municipality, Tierney said.

Selectman Barry Greenfield, who invited the company to the meeting, asked if they can help Swampscott solve its drainage problem.

Tierney said the company has helped other towns resolve drainage issues through cleaning and maintaining lines and separating sewer and water flows.

Swampscott has a separate system, already, sending its wastewater to Lynn for treatment and its storm water to the ocean.

As it stands, Swampscott employees run the town's water and sewer system.

The town also has a Town Meeting approved contract, through 2014, with the department’s union for the workers to provide those services.

Outsourcing the work before the contract runs out would likely take Town Meeting action.

Selectman David Van Dam said he was interested in seeing how the company might go about fixing the town’s drainage problems but also said the town, if it outsources the services, would risk losing control over pricing.

The chairman of the board, Rich Malagrifa, said Selectmen and Town Administrator Thomas Younger will study the proposal over the next two weeks before deciding whether they want to continue investigating outsourcing options.