Palatine will raise water rates to fund upgrades

Since Palatine last updated its water system master plan in 1995, the village has grown in population, started providing water to Deer Park Town Center and expanded its boundaries through annexation.

Officials are now turning their eyes to future improvements, and that's likely to mean a water rate hike.

While Palatine isn't facing any critical problems requiring an immediate fix, officials have identified an estimated $14.4 million in systematic improvements over the next 20 years.

Funding the project likely would mean raising water rates from the current $2.12 per 1,000 gallons to between $3 and $3.50 per 1,000 gallons, Village Manager Reid Ottesen said.

"We do need to (continue) to work on the rates so we can fund these long-term improvements if we want to maintain a system we consider good to excellent," Ottesen said.

Even at $3.50, Palatine would still rank in the bottom 25 percent of Northwest suburban water rates, he said.

The village hired engineering consulting firm Baxter & Woodman to study the existing system and help develop a new master plan to meet water needs for the next 25 to 50 years. The findings were presented to the council at Monday's meeting.

Engineers concluded Palatine should pursue a third connection with a neighboring community in order to secure an adequate water source in the event of a prolonged local water supply outage. The village currently maintains emergency wells and has links to Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows.

Either Hoffman Estates or Schaumburg would be a good candidate because they're served by the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency, or JAWA, the engineers said. Palatine's water supplier is the Northwest Water Commission, and engineers say it's best to tap into a different agency in the event of a system failure.

The report also recommends a new 1 million gallon elevated storage tank on the south side of the village, possibly on the Harper College campus. Building one would increase the amount of water available for fire protection in that area.

Another recommendation calls for spending about $5.5 million to upgrade and automate the village's nearly 24,000 meters, which are currently read manually. However, overhauling the system might not be justified because Palatine can account for all but 2 percent of its water.

"It makes it difficult to really recommend replacing the meters on the basis we're losing a lot of revenue because it's not recording," Public Works Director Andy Radetski said.

Next, staff will prioritize needs and work up a plan for its implementation. Discussions for next year's water rates will begin this fall.