Plumber shortage leads to backlog, higher prices for MWA customers

The Middlesex Water Authority (MWA) system serving central and eastern Middlesex County is nearly complete and will come in at a cost of $29.4 million, MWA Executive Director Jim Nagy reported to the Middlesex Board of Supervisors during its Friday, Jan. 6, work session.

The MWA system has 716 subscribers, a large increase from the 494 customers the MWA had in 2017 when the project was getting under way, said Nagy.

The MWA’s responsibility to deliver water is complete when the authority installs a water meter at the customers’ property line. The customer is responsible for having the water line run from the meter to the home or business. Of the 716 customers who have water meters installed by the MWA, only about 60% are connected to the home or business, Nagy told the board.

Plumber shortage

“There’s a shortage of plumbers in the area so there’s a big backlog of people getting connected from the meter to their house,” Nagy explained. “And the prices I’m hearing are pretty exorbitant to get connected.”

There’s a one month wait to get hooked up. Plumbing companies from outside the county, as far away as Richmond, are coming to Middlesex to do hookups, Nagy added…