MassDEP fines Housatonic Water Works for missed deadline
GREAT BARRINGTON — Three weeks after Housatonic Water Works missed its deadline to install a filtration system, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has fined the company $2,500.
“It is unacceptable that Housatonic Water Works has failed to meet the required deadline for completing and placing the manganese treatment system into operation,” said Michael Gorski, director of MassDEP’s Western Regional Office, in a press release Tuesday.
For decades, the 800-plus customers of Housatonic Water Works have dealt with discolored water that a 2020 study identified as being caused by excess manganese.
An order in October 2024 gave the company 30 days to submit engineering plans and other corrective actions, which they failed to do.
The missed deadline, in addition to the violation of state drinking water regulations, led to a $12,360 fine.
An administrative consent order from July 2025 required Housatonic Water Works to install a manganese treatment plant at its drinking water treatment facility by March 1 or face hefty fines unless ongoing litigation.
It also suspended the $12,360 fine, as long as it fully complies with this order. Tuesday’s fine of $2,500 is a partial payment of the suspended penalty and MassDEP said the cost may not be passed to ratepayers in any way.
The July 2025 order allows for a $500 a day fine for violating the order and reinstatement of the previous fine.
If litigation is the sole reason for financing concerns, the company can request deadline extensions, which it did last fall and was granted an extension until June 1.
MassDEP denied another request for an extension May 26, saying that while it understands the challenges the company is facing, the extension requirement outlined in the order.
“MassDEP expects the company to accelerate construction of the treatment plant and make it operational without further delay,” Gorski said.
MassDEP did not immediately respond to questions regarding whether there was a deadline for the fine.