Rosemont will pass on lake water rate increase

If you use Chicago's Lake Michigan water, you will have to shell out more starting Jan. 1.

Chicago is raising water rates for Lake Michigan customers by 44 percent over three years to help replace aging infrastructure.

With 4,300 miles of aging pipes, including some Chicago water mains dating to the 1800s, the city needs to start rebuilding the system, said Tom LaPorte, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Water Management.

"A lot of our pipes go back 100 years, so we need to update our infrastructure and keep our pumping stations up to date," LaPorte said.

Rosemont on Wednesday approved passing on the rate increase to its customers.

Starting Jan. 1, customers will see a 15 percent increase. Another 15 percent increase will take effect Jan. 1, 2009, with a 14 percent hike the final year.

In Rosemont, the $1.70 rate per 1,000 gallons will jump to $1.95 on Jan. 1, $2.25 in 2009 and $2.55 in 2010.

Rosemont's link to Lake Michigan water is legendary. The late Mayor Donald E. Stephens brokered a deal with Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley in the 1950s to get Lake Michigan water piped into the small town in exchange for the crucial Foster Avenue connection to O'Hare International Airport, which kept the airport in Chicago.

The deal is credited for fueling Rosemont's growth. Other suburbs followed in tapping into Lake Michigan water.