Recently the Council held a workshop that reviewed the 2017 water rate study, which determined that customers will need to pay more beginning June 1.
“The new rate study is to provide for the continuation of operations that we have today, it also is going to correct a cost of service adjustment. Currently we have residential customers subsidizing commercial customers, so the new rate study will take care of that,” explained Jim Holzapfel, Director of the Water & Wastewater Utility with the City of Naperville.
The rates are set to increase between three and four percent annually, which would be about two to three dollars a month more each year through 2021 equating to about a $12 overall increase on your monthly bill.
These increases will also include a surcharge beginning at 50 cents in 2017 and topping off at $1.80 in 2021 which will cover a portion of the cost for new Illinois EPA requirements to remove more phosphorus from the water, a plan that is expected to cost $40 to 60 million for improvements at the Springbrook Water Reclamation Center.
“In that permit will be a requirement to keep our phosphorus concentration of the treated water coming out of the plant below 1mg per liter, currently the phosphorus is coming out of our treatment plant is around 3mg per liter, so we have to build some improvements and re-design reconfigure the treatment plant to remove phosphorus,” added Holzapfel.
The rest of the funds will come from a repayment from the electric utility and borrowed through loans for construction to begin in 2025.
While rates will be rising, they are still low compared to our neighbors like Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Plainfield. Council members agree the change is a good plan of action.
“You’re saving some money for it ahead of time, and then when the time gets here to spend a large amount of money on capital improvements, we’re going to go out and bond on them, so I’m in favor of it,” said Councilman John Krummen.
The last water rate increase was in 2013.
Naperville News 17’s Alyssa Bochenek reports.