Village officials are confident residents will cooperate with Mokena’s water conservation plan, but an ordinance passed this week sets penalties just in case they don’t.
The plan, designed to avert a choice between dwindling water reserves and parched greenery, calls for posting color-cued signs that tell residents how much lawn watering is permissible.
Based on traffic signal colors, green means residents can follow the regular water schedule of 7 to 11 a.m. and 7 to 11 p.m. on odd-and even-number days. Yellow is a call for caution, requesting residents to reduce the amount of water they use on their lawns by one-third. Red signs call for a more severe restriction.
Penalties set by the ordinance include warnings and a steadily increasing schedule of fines up to the $750 limit the village is allowed to charge, said Village Administrator John Downs.
Violators under green conditions will get two warnings, and violators under yellow conditions will get one warning before fines start kicking in. When the red sign is up, fines will be charged immediately, Downs said. Fines will go from $50 to $100 to $200 to $400 to $750, for each subsequent offense, he said.
Mayor Joe Werner said Mokena would not have water problems if everybody pitches in.
Also this week, the board approved a four-year contract with Local 150 of the operating engineers union that represents Public Works Department employees.
In addition to a 4.75 percent annual raise, the contract also offers a boost in weekly wages while an employee is on 24-hour call and provides for a fifth week of vacation after 20 years of service.
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