Elmhurst Aldermen To Review 28% Water Hike

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst is making the case for a 28 percent water and sewer rate increase in March.

On Monday, the City Council is taking its first look at the proposal from its finance committee, which has been reviewing the issue for months.

In a memo Thursday, the city noted the failures of water and sewer systems in Michigan and Mississippi in recent times.

"Reliable water and sewer service is something that is often taken for granted," the memo said. "However, keeping your system reliable depends upon continual maintenance and replacement of important components of the system."

The bulk of the proposed increase is expected to go toward improvements to the water and sewer systems.

For instance, the city said it needed to replace or rehabilitate items in the wastewater treatment plant that it last updated three decades ago.

The city also said it must prepare for unfunded state and federal mandates to remove phosphorous in the treatment process by 2031.

The capital plan for the wastewater plant includes $79 million in necessary improvements by 2031, according to the memo.

The city also said its 184 miles of water mains are mostly old and need replacement, with the average main 62 years old.

According to Elmhurst statistics, 29 percent of its mains were installed in the 1920s and another 27 percent in the 1960s.

The mains built in the 1920s had a 100-year lifespan, while those constructed after World War II are expected to last 75 years.

Nearly one-third of the existing system is older than its life expectancy, while almost two-thirds will be older than life expectancy by 2040, according to the memo.

"As the water system ages, it is more susceptible to main breaks, which cause service disruptions, boil orders, and can be costly to repair," the memo said.

The city wants to spend $5 million a year on main replacements to follow a 100-year schedule.

Elmhurst's water rates are often compared to those in other area towns, the city said. But the memo said Elmhurst is not comparable to many of the others.

Western DuPage County towns largely built their systems from 1980 to 2000 and have no need for replacement, the city said.

"Unlike Elmhurst, these communities will not see substantial replacement needs for several decades," the memo said.

The city also said it was ahead of other towns in planning for treatment plant work to meet phosphorous requirements.

The council meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall.