North Shore Water Rates Vary Widely

A new report has revealed that most water bills on Chicago's North Shore are some of the lowest of the scores of municipalities that use water from Lake Michigan, while some others rank the highest. A Chicago Tribune investigation also found the poorest communities in the region pay significantly more for the water than richer ones.

The paper surveyed 162 communities that use the lake as a water supply and ranked the towns by overall water bills, noted how much each has increased since 2013 and where the water is purchased from, evaluated the amount of water each wastes due to leaking pipes and took a look at how the age of the water pipes, where 2014 data was available.

Last month, Evanston filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court asking for a judge to issue a ruling approving the cities rate hike for water it sells to Skokie after the neighboring towns failed to come to an agreement on a new wholesale water supply contract. Three weeks later, Skokie responded by calling Evanston's moves "reckless and hostile," as its neighbor promised "consequences."

According to the data, both towns are among the two dozen cheapest municipalities of those surveyed. Evanston, however, wastes just 2.3 percent of the water in its pipes while Skokie leaks a higher-than-average 13.47 percent.

Kenilworth wastes a whopping 23.44 percent of the water that passes through its pipes and charges its customers significantly more than its neighbors, with its average bill of more than $64 the 13th-highest reported in the survey.

But the most expensive water on the North Shore, according to data gathered by the Tribune, can be found in Bannockburn. The already-astronomical 2013 average monthly bill of $75.73 has continued to rise and now sits at nearly $85, the state's third-highest water cost.

Find the results below for cities and villages on the North Shore:

» Read more and look up more towns from the Chicago Tribune

_{Top photo via Pixabay}