Clark Shores Water Corporation was founded in April 2002 as a grassroots effort by the homeowners in Clark Shores when they found themselves challenged by an imminent water system shutdown.  The residents of Clark Shores were dependent on a shallow non-compliant well surrounded by homes and septic systems and clearly needed a new, healthy and dependable source of water.  The affected residents agreed to join together and form Clark Shores Water Corporation (CSWC).

The residents understood that failure would likely mean a severe impact to property values and livability.  They accepted the challenge to construct and operate a small community water system. (CSWC is the smallest non-profit community water system in Massachusetts!)

This included identifying and acquiring a suitable well location to provide water on a year round basis. It was a substantial challenge for the homeowners to obtain funding, locate a suitable well site, to retain engineering firms, and to engage appropriate construction firms to build the water plant and water delivery systems.

In 2011 a 22+ acre property abutting Clark Shores was identified and purchased. Four new wells were drilled and a modern water treatment plant was built in 2019 that had capacity that could ultimately serve the entire community. The plant supplies water to everyone serviced by CSWC; clean drinking water is delivered via two+ miles of year round water mains and seasonal mains.  Approximately two miles of water mains remain to be emplaced at this time.

CSWC continues to be challenged by new EPA regulations, higher costs and changes in our regulatory environment, including PFAS requirements.  Our next and final phase will address these requirements and will allow continued access to clean water for Clark Shores residents.

Clark Shores Water Corporation is recognized as a IRC 501(C)(12) cooperative.   Accordingly, the company files the Federal Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service.    A copy of the latest Form 990 tax filing and IRS 501(c)(12) exemption status  can be provided upon request.

• Is my water use metered?  If you have year round water access and CSWC has turned on the water to your home, then the water that flows is metered.

• Why am I not billed according to my metered use? Currently, only homes receiving year-round water service are metered. Once all homes receiving CSWC water service are connected year-round, at that time CSWC will begin the process to enable billing by metered use.

• Why is water billed at a flat-rate?:  Water service is currently billed at a flat-rate of $225/mo. as there are not sufficient meters installed to track community water usage.   The calculation of a billing rate is dependent on all customers having a water meter which provides the base community usage and thus the denominator for allocating the cost of operations to all users equitably.  Meters will be installed after CSWC completes the installation of remaining water mains in the seasonal sections of the community.  When this is completed and usage data is available, CSWC can submit a petition for a revenue-neutral rate redesign to the Mass. DPU.

• Is my meter read?  Yes. Some meters are read remotely from the curb.  Others require manual reading at this time.

• Where is my meter located?  Many properties have their meter installed in a meter pit, located in the front yard. Others have theirs installed inside, in a location that can be easily accessed by CSWC.

• Does my house have CSWC water, and if I do have water service, is it seasonal or year-round ?   If you are unsure if you receive CSWC water service and/or the type of service, please contact CSWC.  If you are planning to  purchase a home in Clark Shores, please inquire to confirm the service available.

• When will I have year-round water service available to my house?  If your area does not have year-round service, please note that we cannot provide an absolute date.  It is estimated that it may be over  two years before CSWC will be in a position to resume year-round water main installations to seasonal-only areas. We are however making headway to establish a relationship with an engineering firm to volunteer to provide preliminary plans.  However, homeowners wanting to expedite the process of getting year-round water to their location may be able to pursue a Homeowner Funded Extension Project - contact CSWC for more information.

• Why is there a delay in completing the water mains in all of Clark Shores?  The COVID pandemic impacted many households in Clark Shores, not unlike many areas of the Commonwealth, exacerbating an already a struggling water payments remittances history.    CSWC is regaining, in 2025, a measure of financial stability which will permit the financing needed to complete the community wide project.  CSWC is beginning the process to locate engineering services to plan the next steps.

• Do I have a year-round curb-stop?  If you contracted with CSWC to tie into CSWC water service, and you are in the year-round service area, a curb-stop is installed.  If you need help locating your curb-stop contact CSWC for assistance.

• Do seasonal customers have curb-stops?  No, a seasonal tie-in is not the same as a year-round curb-stop,.  The seasonal tie-in is a simpler access valve and is typically located under a cement paver block in the front yard area. Please do not remove these paver or fill in the valve area with soil.  These are the property of CSWC and a service change may be applied to recover access to these valves. 

• Are homeowner required to install back-flow preventers?  Yes, this a mandate for homeowners.  Contamination of drinking water is a serious issue to the community and your neighbors.

• When is seasonal-only water service available?  Weather permitting, water service in seasonal areas will be available mid-April through mid-October. However, CSWC opens seasonal water service as early in April as possible, and will typically provide service until mid-October:   However, water service to seasonal areas may continue into November if the weather permits and there is no threat of freezing the seasonal water system.

• Is CSWC water tested? Yes. CSWC adheres to DEP strict testing guidelines and produces a Consumer Confidence Report yearly.

• Does CSWC produce an annual water report? Yes, it is called a Consumer Confidence Report or CCR.  This will be  updated to the CSWC website, or you may  contact CSWC to have the most recent report sent to you.

• Does CSWC have a licensed Certified Water Operator? Yes, CSWC has 2 Certified Water Operators - a Primary and a Secondary.

• Where is the Plant located? At the end of Nook Street, in Clark Shores. It is not a recreational area and is not open to the general public. No trespassing signs are posted at the location.  If you see anyone riding ATV's or vehicles in the well area please contact CSWC and the Lakeville Police as it is an offense that carries fines up to $10,000 or two years in prison plus restitution..  If well-heads or processing equipment is damaged water supply may be contaminated or shut off until repairs and remediation is possible.  (GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter266/Section123A)

• How long has CSWC been in operation? CSWC was formed in 2002.

• Is CSWC a non-profit?  Yes, CSWC is specifically a 501(c)(12).

• Does everyone in Clark Shores get their water from CSWC?  No, only those in our service area that have contracted to have access.  Otherwise  residents rely on private wells.

• If I do not pay my water bill, is my service subject to termination?  Yes, it may be. However, you can contact CSWC to arrange a payment plan and some individuals may be protected from the shut off process. CUSTOMER RIGHTS: To learn more about your rights, please refer to 220 CMR 25.02(4). For more information go to:  https://www.mass.gov/doc/220-cmr-25-billing-and-terminationprocedures-of-the-department-of-public-utilities/download

• If I am unable to pay my bill in full at this time, is a payment plan available?  Yes, please contact: treasurer.cswc@gmail.com

• Are there any available programs to help me pay my water bill?   We are currently not aware of any open programs to specifically assist in paying water bills.

• Does CSWC have meetings that their Members can attend?  Yes, CSWC has Quarterly and Annual Meetings that can be attended.  The meetings may be virtual or in-person, although we are moving towards all virtual  meetings.

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How can I contact CSWC, report a leak, or who can I contact for more  information?

CSWC: ClarkShoresWaterCorporation@gmail.com

Treasurer: treasurer.cswc@gmail.com

Community Outreach: communityoutreach.cswc@gmail.com

Business Telephone: (508)946.9641

Emergency Telephone: (774)384.6120

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1122, Lakeville, MA 02347

PATRICIA WELCH

As a founding Member of Clark Shores Water Corporation (CSWC) and Board of Directors (BOD) I have been with CSWC since inception, in 2002. CSWC was brought about as a grassroots effort fueled by those that found themselves challenged by being dependent on a shallow non-compliant well; whose former owner was on the verge of a permanent shutdown; and required those affected homeowners to band together and accept the challenge.

It has been a long road and there were some monumental challenges along the way. However, with the community's support, the dedication of the BOD, and the assistance and guidance over the years from USDA, RCAP, MRWA and DEP, CSWC successfully made significant accomplishments. CSWC transitioned from a single shallow non-compliant well, in a wooden shed, located on 1,620sf, to a state-of-the-art water treatment plant facility, fed by 4 wells, and located on 22+ acres of land! CSWC is proud to provide quality drinking water to Clark Shores.

In October of 2024, Bill White was welcomed to CSWC’s BOD as Treasurer and has proved to be a true asset from the start. We truly appreciate and respect the level of dedication and professionalism Bill brings to the table.  

Looking forward, CSWC plans to continue to pursue completing the balance of the year-round water main installation project. We are actively working with RCAP to complete necessary and required projects to prepare us to update our engineering, required to seek and secure grants and funding for the project. However, those who owe arrears to CSWC - whether it be for water service or connection fees - must work towards paying back arrears in full, and unfortunately, the longer it takes to collect these arrears the longer it may take for CSWC to resume and complete the balance of the installation of year-round water mains. Although there is currently no set timeline for the project, we will continue to do all we can to expedite the process. Once completed, everyone supplied CSWC water will have year-round access. 

Looking to the future, CSWC will: continue to honor our commitment to maintain source protection; seek to contribute to the improvement of public health and the environment; continue supplying clean drinking water to the community; reduce cost to those supplied water; and expand services with new connections within the community.

Bill White

 I joined CSWC in October 2024 and found a number of areas that needed attention.  The company is unique for a Water Systems company in that it is a 501(C)(12) cooperative.  These entities are formed to provide products or services to a defined population at the lowest price possible., and typically involve member volunteerism to control costs.

In the case of CSWC,  a large capital commitment had been made to build a water system that would support any foreseeable future growth in users and water requirements.  This turned out to be prescient given the significant increase in construction costs from 2018 to present.  

During installation of the water supply mains in 2018, a number of unforeseen bedrock formations precipitated cost overruns that exhausted the funds set aside for this phase, causing remaining supply mains installations to be  incomplete.  The Covid pandemic in 2019-2022 then impacted residents' ability to keep current with their fiscal responsibilities, which in turn significantly impacted  CSWC's ability to obtain further financing to address the incomplete water mains installations.

When water rates were raised to cover increasing costs, disgruntled residents filed complaints, which triggered the need for costly legal and outside accounting support,  further hampering CSWC's ability to advance incomplete mains.   The complaints ultimately led to CSWC being classified as a regulated utility under Mass DPU jurisdiction, adding additional costs and regulatory requirements.   No significant issues were identified barring accounting deficiencies and operational issues such as a lack of a separate office and hardened storage.

Many residents then ceased paying their CSWC debt  and water service obligations, leading to a receivables balance approaching $250,000 in September 2024.  This very significant arrears is being addressed in Q1 2025.  Part of the solution is emphasis on collection of  customer arrears , tighter collection policies, financial consequences, and legal collection interventions.

CSWC is making progress in obtaining engineering support for the the next phase of water main installation, and requisite  USDA financing  for capital expenditures; which is dependent upon CSWC resolving existing debt obligations.

We are also pursuing certain grant programs to help finance a number of requirement we now face as a result of being under the aegis of the Massachusetts DPU, as well as increased Federal and Mass. PFAS requirements and EPA mandates.