Water Consumption & Rates

   Agawam purchases its water from the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission (from its 42 million gallon Provin Mountain finish water reservoir)  but operates our own system for the distribution of water within the community.  This system, comprised of one pump station and approximately 150 miles of pipe ranging in diameter from 4” to 24”, and 11,516 service accounts.  Residential water use accounted for 59.5% of total usage and overall annual consumption was up 2% versus 2020 use at 1,191,329,188 gallons of water in 2021.

  The Mass Dept. of Environmental Protection is requiring that all water systems take steps to reach 65 residential gallons per capita per day standard (GPCPD).  This residential usage includes water used for lawn irrigation.  In Agawam, the average residence has 2.5 people which, at the 65 gallon rate translates to 4,000 cubic feet (CF) in a 6-month billing cycle. To encourage the necessary reduction in water consumption, an inclining block rate structure was adopted on July 1, 2009, and revised in 2104.  Residential usage above 4,000 CF and all other water use, including lawn irrigation, is charged at a rate of $2.38 per 100 CF (all use read after September 1, 2014).  This rate structure, in normal years has been assisting in meeting the required reduction in residential and non-essential outdoor water use. According to our 2020 calculations, Agawam is at a 76 GPCPD, above state standard of 65, it was 76 GPCPD in 2020.  The increase in residential use in 2020 is attributed to the Covid-19 Pandemic Quarantine and decrease in percentage industrial.