Lombard water, sewer rates increasing

Water and sewer rates will increase about $5 a month for the average household starting next year in Lombard.

The increase, effective Jan. 1, was part of a $91.5 million budget approved by the village board.

Director of Finance Tim Sexton said the increase is needed to make up for inaccurate readings by the village's aging brass water meters.

"They're reaching the end of their useful life," he said. "We've seen a significant slowdown in the water usage they're reporting."

The village tests residential meters each year and has found that on average it is billing for only about 93.6 percent of the water being used. That means 6.4 percent of the water is not being accounted for.

The increase approved by the village board will raise the rate from $13.06 per 1,000 gallons to $14.30 per 1,000 gallons. That matches what the DuPage Water Commission says is the average water rate for the municipalities it serves.

Village officials say the average household in Lombard uses 4,000 gallons of water a month, which means the average increase will be an additional $4.96 a month.

To avoid under-collection of water sales, the meters need to be replaced. About 90 percent of the meters, or about 10,900 meters, were installed in the 1980s.

The village's capital improvement plan proposed launching a residential meter replacement program in 2018, but the public works department is working with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in hopes of securing funding so replacements could begin next year.