Skokie residents can expect to pay 7.5% higher water fees in fiscal year 2024 after the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the rate increase at its July 17 meeting. Water rates will increase in a phased approach starting in August.
Water rates will increase from $57.56 per thousand cubic feet to $61.88 per 1,000 cubic feet of water, the ordinance states.
Rates will be increased in a phased approach starting next month through October. Rates will be $57.56 per 1,000 cubic feet for water service billed in July, $59 for August, $60.44 for September and will reach the consistent $61.88 in October, the ordinance states. Despite the phased rate approach, the ordinance states water bills will still be issued on a quarterly basis.
The water rate increase comes as the village looks at replacing and repairing its water and sewer infrastructure, according to the ordinance. Skokie’s Director of Engineering Russ Rietveld said that the village is focusing on repairing its water main lines and household service lines contaminated with lead.
“Water main projects involve repairing or replacing larger water transmission mains located under the street, whereas lead service line replacement involves replacing water services serving individual households,” Rietveld said.
Skokie’s main water line rehabilitation project will focus on lines between Main Street and Howard Street this year, according to the village’s capital improvement plan map at https://skokieil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/5bf9e8b24d3e420cb38660e904f32a84.
“The Village focuses water main replacement on mains with high occurrences of failures, in areas that are scheduled for future roadway improvements and in areas to increase fire hydrant flow capacity,” Rietveld said.
Skokie’s Village Board on April 3 approved moving forward on a plan to replace 11,287 individual water service lines in the village, according to a village memo. The project is expected to cost the village $79 million over the next 30 years, Rietveld wrote an April 3 meeting memo. This comes after Illinois in 2021 required municipalities to replace lead service lines over a period of years.
It currently costs roughly $7,000 to replace a single household water line, according to the village resolution authorizing the project. Trustees approved a shared cost program in which residents pay $3,000 to replace the private side of the water lines while the village pays the remaining roughly $5,000, Rietveld said.
“The village has launched a cost-sharing program to limit expenses for property owners as it removes lead services from the water distribution system over the next several decades,” Rietveld said. “At this time, the cost-sharing program applies if a scheduled water main or lead service line replacement impacts a property, if a lead service line develops a leak or if the village initiates other related repairs.”
Skokie performs sewer maintenance and repair work on a continuous basis with $1 million allotted annually toward sewer projects, Rietveld said.
More Top Picks Best Single Cup Coffee Maker No Pods
“The village conducts sewer rehabilitation on an ongoing basis,” Rietveld said. “Projects are planned each year based on need and funds are approved by the Board of Trustees as part of the annual budgeting process.”