Town officials in Dartmouth are discussing bringing Fall River municipal water to the town via Westport, calling it a potential solution to persistent challenges with water supply and cost.

 

Dartmouth is raising water rates by 7.5% for the fiscal year that began on July 1, following a 13% mid-year increase in January 2026.

 

Rates are increasing because the town relies on water purchased from New Bedford while several of its own wells are offline, said Town Administrator Cody Haddad at a July 13 Select Board meeting. He said this year’s increase will “stabilize” the town’s water budget, avoiding future mid-year jumps.

 

“Unfortunately, the days of 3 and 4% increases, at least in the near future, are over. Just the costs of things are astronomical,” Haddad said.

 

Purchasing New Bedford water will cost Dartmouth over $3 million this fiscal year, Treasurer Gary Carreiro projected at the July 13 meeting. The town’s total budget is about $113 million.

 

Dartmouth began buying New Bedford water after a 2020 storm damaged several town wells, resulting in bacterial contamination. Though the wells have come back online, Haddad said, drought conditions haven’t allowed the town to make full use of them.

 

At the meeting, Public Works Director Tim Barber said he has met with Fall River officials to discuss bringing water from the city’s North Watuppa Pond reservoir to Dartmouth.

 

“The city of Fall River is interested and in agreement with us,” he said.

 

Fall River currently sells municipal water to parts of Freetown, Tiverton and Westport. The city's water primarily comes from North Watuppa Pond, with Copicut Reservoir on the Fall River-Dartmouth line as a backup.

 

The plan to sell water to Dartmouth would require extending a pipeline across Westport, where voters rejected a funding go-ahead for a similar proposal in 2024. Westport’s water system currently extends roughly halfway to Dartmouth, ending past Davis Road along Route 6.

 

Dartmouth town officials said a potential extension to the Westport-Dartmouth town line could be funded by a bill from the Legislature or a MassWorks infrastructure grant. Barber estimated an extension would cost upwards of $5 million.

 

He also said Fall River has offered Dartmouth a drop rate, meaning the town would pay the city less for its water once it had purchased a certain volume.

 

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