Conservation-minded residents who don’t use large amounts of water at home will no longer have to pay a financial penalty for exercising restraint, village officials said.
Village Council members agreed Monday to lower the minimum water bill charge from $11.50, or five units, to $2.30, or one unit, for each bimonthly billing period. Under the former system, residents who used less than the minimum five units-each unit equals 750 gallons of water-were still charged for five. With the new rate structure, residents who use less than one unit will be charged for that unit but no more.
More Top Picks Best Large Cat Trees
Officials decided to lower the minimum after the village “received comments from a number of people who are attempting to practice conservation and said the system was unfair,” said village manager Kurt Bressner. “People were paying for water they weren’t using.”
Of the 14,000 water accounts receiving Lake Michigan water in Downers Grove, some 1,000 use less than five units of water during the two-month billing periods, Bressner said, and about 100 residents use less than one unit.
While the majority of accounts who use less than five units of water are small businesses, a number are conservationists and senior citizens on fixed incomes, Bressner said. So although the village stands to lose $15,000 to $25,000 in water revenue by lowering the minimum charge, “that loss will be replaced by some good will toward us,” he said.
Historically, the village gave a financial break to those who used the largest amounts of water, said Mayor Betty Cheever. That practice was halted about 15 years ago when water conservation became more important, she said.
The new minimum charge will especially aid senior citizens who struggle to pay bills on a fixed income, said resident Joan Konecny. “Some seniors can’t afford that fixed rate of five units,” she said.
“Two dollars and 30 cents doesn’t seem like a lot unless you don’t have money,” Konecny said.