Selectmen to host Hingham board about possible Aquarion acquisition

The Hull Board of Selectmen will meet with their counterparts from Hingham to learn the details of that town's proposed buyout of Aquarion Water Co. operations that service customers in Hull, Hingham, and Cohasset.

This public forum, which begins at 8:15 p.m. Thursday (March 21) at Hull High School, represents the only Hull meeting for local residents to learn about the plan from Hingham officials’ viewpoint.

For reasons that are unclear, Hull selectmen chose not to hold a separate meeting on this topic, but included the agenda item within the board's regular Thursday night meeting. Selectmen did, however, move the meeting to the high school's Exhibition Room on the second floor to accommodate more residents who want to attend.

Here is the selectmen's agenda for tomorrow night:

7:30 Selectmen referral to Planning Board for a Public Hearing regarding proposed zoning change regarding parking requirements for Home Businesses

7:45 Dave Carlon-re-Presentation on impacts from Logan Airport

8:15 Joint Discussion with Hingham Board of Selectmen, re- Aquarion Water Update

9:00 RESCHEDULED: Red Parrot, Inc., dba Inspire Eat and Drink, 1 Hull Shore Drive-re-Public Hearing for transfer of all licenses to Houlihans Seaside, Inc., dba The Parrot

SAMOSET AREA WILL LOSE WATER SERVICE TODAY AS SYSTEM REPAIRS ARE DONE

Here is the updated Aquarion memo about today's anticipated service interruption, courtesy of Hull DPW's ace administrative aide, MaryEllen White.

Aquarion Water Company will be replacing two gate valves, one at the intersection of Samoset Avenue and Lewis Street, the other at the intersection of Samoset and Adams, on Aug. 9 (today).

This infrastructure improvement is necessary and is being done to help resolve the discoloration issue which some homes experienced earlier this week.

In order to do the work, water will be off to the following customers between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

125-199 Samoset Ave., all of Hadassah Way, 18 Adams St., 5 - 20 Lewis St., all of Weston Street.

The following fire hydrants will be out of service during the construction: 649, 786, 787, and 745.

The water company also sent out a second CODE RED message to the following streets to alert residents of potential low pressure and potential discoloration during the construction:

All of Manomet Avenue,  200-225 Samoset Ave., 1- 124 Samoset Ave., 560-652 Nantasket Ave.

Customers with questions or issues may call 800-928-3734.

Hull High hearing tonight on proposed 12.9% hike to water rates

The state Department of Public Utilities holds a hearing tonight at Hull High School to solicit public comment about Aquarion Water Co.'s request for a 12.9 percent rate hike.

The forum begins at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

Hull Cable will not be able to broadcast the meeting live, but will tape it to air on the local access channel later this week. Consult the cable schedule in Friday's Times for details.

Lots to do in Hull today

Tales from the Peace Corps. Hull’s own Steven Greenberg joined the Peace Corps in 2013 and spent two years in Armenia. He was 64. He will be at the Anne Scully Senior Center at 10:30 a.m. to share tales of his exciting and rewarding experience and stories about other retiree Peace Corps volunteers. The senior center is located at 197A Samoset Ave.

Meet the Author. Richard ‘Butch’ Neal grew up in Hull and rose through the ranks of the Marine Corps to retire as a four-star general who had been the Corps’ assistant commandant. His life story – and life lessons he wants to share – are the stuff of his memoir, the recently published “What Now, Lieutenant?” Neal is tonight’s featured speaker at this month’s Nantasket Beach Lecture Series installment, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Nantasket Beach Resort, 45 Hull Shore Dr. These popular talks are free [Donations are welcome!] and sponsored by the Hull Lifesaving Museum, the Friends of the Hull Public Library, and the state Dept. of Conservation & Recreation. Bring your copy of Neal’s book to have it signed, or purchase one at the event and have the genial general autograph it on the spot. For event details, call the lifesaving museum at 781 925-5433.

Aquarion Water Rate Increase Hearing. The state Department of Public Utilities will hear public comment about Aquarion Water Co.'s petition for a rate increase that would add about $9 a month to the average water bill in Hull. The forum begins at 7 p.m. at Hull High School auditorium.

WATER LINE TO BE REPAIRED TONIGHT

Beginning at 8 p.m. tonight [Wednesday], Aquarion Water will conduct a scheduled repair at 1066 Nantasket Ave.

During the repair, a water-main shutdown may be necessary. As a result, there may be a period of discolored water, poor water pressure, or no water pressure for homes located from the intersection of Nantasket Avenue and Fitzpatrick Way, all the way to the end of the peninsula at Pemberton.

In the event that a shutdown is necessary, Aquarion will alert residents with a Code Red phone call at around 10 pm. In preparation for a potential shutdown after 10 p.m., company spokesmen advise customers in the affected area to store water for drinking and other essential needs.

For additional information, visit <http://www.aquarionwater.com> or contact Customer Service at 800-928-3734.

Aquarion wins state water-quality award

For the third time in four years, Aquarion Water Company has received a Public Water System award for outstanding performance and achievement in 2016 from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for its water system that serves Hull, Hingham, and North Cohasset.

For more than two decades, MassDEP has given these awards to acknowledge water professionals whose accomplishments in delivering consistent and safe drinking water to residents are worthy of special recognition.

All of the state’s 1,735 public water systems were eligible for this award, but only a select few were chosen by the regulatory agency.

In its size category, Aquarion is one of six service providers to win the award.

The criteria used to select top performing systems include overall water quality, as well as adherence to state regulatory compliance for more than 90 contaminants. Aquarion had no water violations and performs over 100,000 water quality tests annually, including tap-water lead and copper levels, to ensure water is safe to drink.

Vice President of Operations John Walsh said Aquarion strives to deliver to its customers the highest level of service and water quality. “It’s an honor to see the commitment of our staff recognized by the state drinking water regulatory authority for being among the best in the state,” he said.