20% Of Hinsdale Water Not Paid For: Village

HINSDALE, IL – An estimated 20 percent of Hinsdale's water ends up not being paid for, the village says.

That's something officials would like to change.

In a memo last week, the village said the unpaid-for amount – officially known as "non-revenue water" – is a challenge.

Hinsdale buys its water from the DuPage Water Commission. For a variety of reasons, the village doesn't bill for 20 percent of it.

The reasons include system leakage, inaccurate water meters, fire department usage and irrigation, the memo said.

On Tuesday, the Village Board voted to hire Baxter & Woodman, an engineering firm, to analyze the system and identify ways to reduce the losses.

The firm has conducted such studies in other towns.

In 2020, La Grange determined that 25 percent of its water was unaccounted for. Much of the problem was blamed on water leaks, with many mains dating back to 1900.