The deadline for applying for agricultural water rates is Friday, May 15, but many eligible customers in town still haven’t applied.
Under a new Water Commission policy, Lincoln farming and agricultural operations are eligible for Tier 1 water rates of $6.52 per 1,000 gallons of water, but they must apply to the commission in order to qualify.
The new requirement came after the commission ended an informal policy of charging the lowest rate for farms regardless of how much water they used. But the sudden rate hike late last year resulted in protests from farmers and a second attempt to craft a new policy.
The original application deadline was April 1, but because of the pandemic, “many of the farmers lost sight of the fact that the deadline was coming up. We are doing our best to reach out to everyone we know of who is farming, but we can’t be sure that we know about everyone who might benefit from this lower rate,” commission member Ruth Ann Hendrickson said.
Click here to download the agricultural-rate policy and application form. Anyone who has not filed before May 15 will revert to the regular tiered residential rates.
