Douglas Water Commission Approves Over $16,000 in Abatements at May Meeting

DOUGLAS -- May 12, 2026, Douglas Water Commission grants more than $16,000 in water and sewer abatements at May 12 meeting. The commission, comprising Commissioners Kyle Loose, Colin Hare, and Bob Selby, approved two separate abatements totaling $13,344.29 for the Douglas public schools after a district representative demonstrated that a Neptune exception irrigation meter at the high school had been transmitting no data due to a disconnected wire splice between the meter and its radio, resulting in inflated sewer charges across multiple billing cycles. The school abatements covered a September 15, 2025 bill ($8,741.00) and a March 5, 2026 bill ($5,603.29), both passed on unanimous voice votes. A third abatement of $2,978.84, the sewer portion only, was approved for a 78-year-old residential customer who sustained a billing spike after two toilets were found leaking. Separately, Loose reported that engineering estimates for the North Street tank project have reached approximately $5 million after adjustments, with grant applications in preparation targeting fall Town Meeting, and that Synagro has proposed a one-year biosolids contract renewal at $12.91 per gallon, up roughly 20 percent from the current $10.76 rate.