Arlington Heights water, sewer rates going up in January

In January, Arlington Heights residents will see a 19 percent increase in their water and sewer rates as part of a five-year rate adjustment plan approved by the village board in September 2014.

The rate adjustment will go toward funding water main replacements to its 60-year-old water and sanitary sewer infrastructure, which currently suffers from twice as many water main breaks as comparable communities due to its age and condition, according to a village release.

The revised rate structure will allow Arlington Heights to increase its water main replacement program sixfold, from about $500,000 per year to $3 million a year by 2020.

The five-year water and sewer rate increase approved by the village board called for increases of 5 percent in May 2015, 19 percent in January 2016, and 5 percent in January 2017, 2018 and 2019.