Fall River seeks $2.5 million state loan to replace more lead water lines at no cost to customers, utilities chief says
The state loan carries no interest and at least 40% of the principal forgiven, the city's utilities chief wrote, and the city's debt tables list a 2 cent effect on the water rate in each repayment year.
FALL RIVER Fall River wants to borrow $2.5 million from the state to keep replacing the lead service lines that carry water into residents' homes, work its utilities chief says comes at no charge to customers, under a loan order the City Council takes up Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Mayor Paul Coogan sent the order on Nov. 5 for Phase 25 of the city's Water System Improvement Project, writing that council approval is needed under the city's financial policy to authorize any borrowing for the work. It is item 3 among the priority matters at the council's 7 p.m. meeting.
In a Nov. 4 memo, Paul Ferland, administrator of Community Utilities, wrote that the loan "is slated to be used to replace lead service with no cost to the customer as required by the Administrative Consent Order that we are under from the Mass DEP."
What it costs
The order appropriates $2.5 million for the design and construction of Phase 25 and lets the treasurer, with the mayor's approval, borrow that amount, including from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, the state's revolving loan fund, according to the agenda packet. It also lets the treasurer seek state qualification of the bonds under Chapter 44A of the General Laws and lets the mayor sign a project regulatory agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection.
Ferland wrote that a State Revolving Fund loan for lead service removal carries a 0% interest rate and a minimum 40% principal reduction, and that the last loan the city received was reduced by 57%.
A financial summary in the packet splits the $2.5 million into $1.6 million for lead service replacement construction, $550,000 for construction management and inspection services on the replacements, $100,000 for police details and a $250,000 contingency, with the work dated 2026 and 2027.
The city's debt estimates in the packet show both cases. At a 57% reduction, the city would repay $1,075,000 at $53,750 a year for 20 years, from 2027 through 2046. At 40%, it would repay $1.5 million at $75,000 a year. Each table lists the effect on the water rate as 2 cents in each year, without naming the unit the rate is charged by.
The loan money would be paired with the balance of the city's federal WIIN grant for water infrastructure and with Congressionally Directed Spending, Ferland wrote.
How we got here
"Over the past 24 Phases the city has made great advances in the water quality that it provides to its customers," Ferland wrote, adding that "we still have more work to be done." SC360 reported in October on separate grants the city won for street and lead pipe work on Alden Street and Columbia Street.
How to weigh in
The council meets in the Council Chamber at One Government Center. Its 6 p.m. Committee on Finance meeting includes citizen input, and the regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. or when that meeting ends. Questions about lead service lines go to Community Utilities at 508-324-2330 for water, and the City Clerk's office is at 508-324-2220.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the City of Fall River's own records: the Nov. 10 council agenda and its packet, which holds the mayor's letter, the loan order, the Community Utilities memo and the debt tables. We read them on Nov. 6, 2026. The packet is a scan, so we read each figure on the page image and recomputed the yearly payments. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: we asked Community Utilities on Nov. 6 how many lead lines remain, which streets Phase 25 covers and what unit the 2 cent rate effect uses, and will add the answer.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (2)
- City of Fall River: City Council meetings agenda, Nov. 10, 2026Clerk stamp Nov. 6, 2026, 12:55 p.m. Priority matter 3, loan order for Phase 25 Water Systems Improvements, $2,500,000. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- City of Fall River: City Council agenda packet, Nov. 10, 2026 (111 pages)Mayor letter, Nov. 5 (page 12); loan order (page 13); Community Utilities memo, Nov. 4 (page 14); Phase 25 financial summary (page 15); debt estimates at 57% and 40% principal reduction (pages 16 and 17). Read Nov. 6, 2026.