Harwich Water Board Votes to Seek Full Audit of Wastewater Enterprise Fund

HARWICH — January 20, 2026 — Harwich water commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to demand a full audit of the town's wastewater enterprise fund after the state reported a roughly $75,000 deficit in year-end figures that Chair Norine Doane says reflects co-mingled town funds, not a true shortfall. Doane said a January 15 meeting with Acting Town Administrator Tony and new Finance Director Jen Menz yielded no commitment to correct the figures before the June 30 fiscal year-end. The board directed Doane to send an immediate letter to the Select Board requesting an audit covering FY20 through FY25. The commission also approved a disaster-rate abatement of $2,542 for a Lower County Road customer who sustained a service line failure that caused 552,000 gallons of excess usage, reducing the bill to $894.15, and denied a $57.90 abatement for a Pleasant Bay Road customer after concluding the leak originated on the homeowner's side of the meter. Contract amendments with engineering firm GHD and new resident-observer firm Waterworks Consulting — at $175 per hour versus the prior $99-per-hour rate — were approved for the Route 28 east side water main project, still awaiting a MassDOT draft permit that was due January 7.