Council Hears Plan to Boost Water Bill for City, Schools

It will cost Harvard a little more every time a student takes a shower if the City Council approves the city manageer's plan to raise the water rate in Cambridge next year.

City Manager James L. Sullivan last night urged the adoption of an amendment to the city ordinance that would boost the cost of water in the city from 26 to 44 cents per hundred cubic feet.

Sullivan said in the first year alone the new rate would bring in more than $500,000 in revenue, most of it coming from "those tax-exempt institutions which use the city's resources" but which are not obligated to pay tax on the property they own.

It Isn't Free

Last year's water bill for Harvard and MIT was $421,000. The new rate would raise that figure to about $670,000 per year.

The council passed the second reading of the amendment last night, but it will not become law until a public hearing is held and the council gives its approval to a third reading of the proposal.

The council also voted last night to demolish the building at 158-168 Pearl St. near Central Square. The building has been attacked as "dangerous and unlawful" by health officials and residents over the past year