City of Joliet Votes 6-1 to Increase Water and Sewer Rates as City reports 30% Water Loss

Joliet, IL. —During a city council vote to increase water and sewer rates on October 4, 2016 City Manager, James Hock, voiced his concern that the city has reported an increasing water loss.

“A loss is what we’re pumping out of our wells into our towers versus what we’re billing our customers,” Hock said at the October 4th meeting.

In 2013 and 2014 the city reported a loss of 30% of its water revenues. Yet in 2015, reported a 15% gain. According to Hock, the industry standard for water loss is six to eight percent.

“What this really tells us is that the billing system is unreliable,” Hock said.

In March, the city hired M.E. Simpson Co., a water utilities servicing company, to examine where the water loss is occurring.

The company examined over 300-miles of water mains—underground pipelines that transport and distribute water—but were unable to locate the source of the leak. The examination is ongoing.

Last year, the Joliet Department of Public Utilities requested that an efficiency study of the city’s water and sewer lines be completed, so that water and sewer rate increases could be implemented.

These increases would assist the city in establishing a preventative maintenance program.

The results of the study—conducted by Matrix Consulting Group—were presented at a Pre-Council meeting on September 19, 2016 and revealed that the utilities department was reactive rather than proactive when dealing with water line breaks.

Robin Haley, a consultant with the Matrix Consulting Group, who conducted the study, told the council at the August 1 meeting, “We’re waiting until something breaks, and then we go fix it.”

In August, David Naumann, from the consulting firm, Burns and McDonnell, presented the council with a plan for implementing a rate increases.

His suggestion was that the council implement a 7% increase for residential sewer and water usage per year for a trial period over the next three years.

According to Naumann, the water and sewage utility is self-sustaining, meaning that the services the utility provides are funded through revenues—direct fees and charges—not taxes.

Currently, Joliet residents get charged $54 for utilities—such as water and sewage—while, under a senior discount, senior residents are charged $36. The regional average is $71.

Naumann said that the issue Joliet faces is that local rates for water and sewer usage have remained stagnant while national rates have increased by about 36%.

“ A lot of the communities we work with have pretty flat revenue trends. So, revenues are pretty flat, operating costs are getting more expensive and that squeezes the dollars that are available to implement projects.”

Within the next five years, Joliet Capital Improvement projects—mandated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)—such as maintenance of Joliet’s underground water and sewage lines will need to be addressed. These projects are expected to cost $106 million.

However Naumann told the council that with the existing water and sewer rates the city was not generating enough revenue for these projects to be implemented.

He cautioned that if the 7% rate increases were not implemented then the city’s reserves, money that the city has set aside for future projects, would be “nearly depleted” by 2022.

Regarding what charges the residents would face Naumann said, “We’re talking about changes in your user rate. So, it’ll be your daily fees, your volume fees, and your sewer separation fees. It is not your tap fees and other miscellaneous fees. Only those [water and sewer] user charges.”

At the October 1st meeting, the ordinance passed 6-1.

At-Large Councilwoman Jan Quillman, voted to approve the ordinance. She had previously expressed concern at raising water and sewer rates as residents are getting back on their feet after the recession.

“Although I hate to raise rates, […] if I’m here and these revenues come in and we can lower the rates […] I’m gonna have to vote aye.”

Addressing this concern Mayor Bob O’Dekirk said, “[…] This is not discretionary spending. We have been mandated by the federal government to change the water system in Joliet. […] If we don’t do this the federal government is gonna come and do it for us and fine the City of Joliet.”

Under the new ordinance, the city will implement the 7% rate increase over the span of three years.

The first increase, effective November 1, will raise resident’s water and sewage bill up to $57.78. Senior citizens will be charged $38.52.