Mount Prospect eyes additional water rate hikes

Mount Prospect already has imposed a 5 percent increase in the water rate this year, adding $4.95 to what a household using 15,000 gallons of water pays in a billing cycle. Further increases loom, as the village adapts to big increases imposed by Chicago, which provides the village's water.

To keep up with the jump, the village would have to increase the rate by 13.2 percent this year, 7.9 percent next year and 8.3 percent, 5.7 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, during the three following years, according to information presented at this week's village board committee-of-the-whole discussion of options.

For a home using 15,000 gallons of water, that would mean an initial annual increase of $82.80 cents.

Finance Director David Erb said the increase could be deferred until May 1.

In the meantime the village is looking at alternatives, but they aren't promising. Village trustees have said, for example, that they are more inclined to raise the rates rather than defer water and sewer capital projects to keep rates down.

And getting lake water from a different source wouldn't be easy. Village Manager Michael Janonis said the village has a contract with Chicago through 2023, and building a pipeline would probably take a decade for engineering and construction. After capital costs, “You may be very close to what you're paying now,” he said.

Another possibility is going back to a deep well system Mount Prospect used before getting Lake Michigan water from Chicago beginning in 1986. Mount Prospect has five deep wells, which have the capacity to cover the village but are currently not being used. When Mount Prospect contracted with Chicago for water, the rates were tied to the lowest residential rate Chicago charged, which “seemed to be a pretty decent protection,” Janonis said.

But Janonis added that Chicago has deferred maintenance on its system, leading to the current rate spike in what it charges Chicago residents and in turn the suburbs. On Jan. 1, Chicago raised the rate 25 percent. It plans increases of 15 percent for each of the following three years.

Village Trustee Paul Hoefert expressed his displeasure at the turn of events. “It feels like the suburbs are going to be paying for the revamping of Chicago's entire water system. That doesn't seem right. We keep up with our maintenance. With all due respect, that's just poor management, and all of sudden, we're going to get stuck with a huge bill.”

The board directed staff to level out annual rate increases to avoid dramatic spikes and to engage Chicago in dialogue over future increases. The board is expected to pass a rate ordinance in March.

Janonis said the executive committee and board of directors of the Northwest Suburban Joint Action Water Agency, which operates the pipeline from Chicago to the suburbs, will meet next month to discuss its options. He said the agency also will be discussing with Chicago the possibility of tying future increase to a more reliable index.