Bartlett brokering a deal to get all of its water supply from Elgin plant
In 2019, the average Bartlett homeowner could pay as much as $1,008 for a year's supply of drinking water - if the village decides to draw exclusively from Elgin's treatment plant. The alternatives are even more expensive.
Village officials have started to negotiate a new contract with the city of Elgin. Under a 35-year pact expiring in 2019, Bartlett receives about 60 percent of its supply - an average of 2 million gallons per day - from Elgin's facility. The rest comes from village-owned wells.
After months of studying other options, officials say shutting down the village wells and relying solely on Elgin's plant offers the cheapest deal.
"If the village board elects to do this … they step out of the water production business," said Christopher Burke, whose Rosemont-based engineering firm was hired by trustees. "There's savings there."
One proposal on the table would have the village paying for the construction of two connections to Elgin's plant, which draws from the Fox River, Burke said. The village would finance the work by issuing bonds. The cost of paying back the debt would be passed on to water bills for Bartlett homes and businesses.
On the high end of projections, water rates would rise from the current $6.36 to an estimated $10.50 per 1,000 gallons in 2019. The average homeowner would pay $84 a month for 8,000 gallons. How much the bills change depends on how much infrastructure work the village undertakes upfront.
If Bartlett, like its neighbors, joined a consortium of Cook County towns that buys Lake Michigan water from Chicago, the monthly bill for that average residential user would jump to $118.40. Costs related to joining the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency could reach $51.3 million over a decade, according to Burke's analysis.
Instead, Bartlett and Elgin are trying to broker a new agreement centered on three areas: the volume of water feeding into the village; the monthly rate; and eliminating a surcharge on top of what Elgin's residents pay, officials say.
The more water Bartlett buys, the cheaper the rate, village Finance Director Jeff Martynowicz said.
Bartlett currently pays Elgin about $4.2 million a year.
The two sides could firm up a deal in "two to three more months or even longer," Martynowicz said.