1 subdivision in Lisle, Illinois gets its water through private company, and has much higher bills
Residents of the west Chicago suburb of Lisle, Illinois, said their water bills are getting higher and higher — with some people forced to use a private utility company based on where they live.
It turns out the water company about which those residents are riled up has been the subject of past complaints too.
In most of Lisle, residents get their water from the village. But in one section, the Oak View subdivision, a private company supplies the water — and it is much more expensive.
Blake Srail is in the section that gets water from the private company, and he has had it with his water bills.
"We pay nearly double what everybody else pays," said Srail. "Every year, the prices seem to increase."
In all, about 350 customers in Lisle get their water from Illinois American Water rather than the village.
"We can't even have village water, even though we're taxpayers and village residents," said Srail.
So how much more do families like Srail's pay? Every two months, a typical homeowner would pay more than $100 if they get water from Illinois American — and those are the charges even before one drop of water flows.
For the majority of Lisle homeowners who get water from the village, that cost is about $10 every two months, and the cost of the water.
"If we don't get water from Illinois American, then we don't have water," said Srail, "and we can't put a well in, so there's no other option."
A spokesperson for Illinois American Water said comparing private and municipal water rates is like apples and oranges, and added that the company's rates are approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Over the decades, the Village of Lisle has looked into trying essentially to buy the system to provide water service to those affected homes. But no deal was ever reached with Illinois American Water.
A few weeks ago in Bolingbrook, Illinois American Water customers likewise said they are fed up with the sky-high bills they have been receiving — to the point where some are considering moving.
"A lot of my friends are ready to move out of town, because they can't afford it either," Bolingbrook resident Ron Ginocchio said in February.
Bryan McDaniel with the consumer advocacy group the Citizens Utility Board, or CUB, emphasized the difference between what Illinois American Water and public water utility customers pay.
"American Water just received a rate increase that went into effect in the beginning of the year," said McDaniel. "You're seeing much higher monthly charges with the private company than the public company."
McDaniel emphasized that consumers are "stuck," and do not have a choice when it comes to water utilities. Yet, he said, private utility companies like Illinois American Water are ultimately focused on profits rather than consumers.
"As a privately-owned utility company, their goal is to impress Wall Street. Their goal is not to impress ratepayers with their rates. They're out to impress Wall Street, right?" he said. "It's why Illinois American Water has been able to increase their dividends 16 years in a row."
CUB is working on addressing issues with private utilities and higher rates in Springfield right now.
"We're trying to slow down these rate increases and provide more transparency around what's going on with water bills," McDaniel said.
Srail said he has reached the village with his concerns and has not heard back.
"I just feel like we're kind of stuck, because nobody wants to do anything," Srail said.
Illinois American Water released this statement about how its rates are calculated:
"Illinois American Water's focus is on providing quality water and wastewater service to our customers. Water and wastewater is what we do, in 148 communities across the state. Our rates are based on our cost of service study, which is calculated according to water industry supported allocation methods. Rates are reviewed in depth by the Illinois Commerce Commission and ICC staff, and all other intervening parties to our rate cases. We can't speak to a rate analysis supporting how the Village of Lisle rates are supported or if the rates recover the cost of providing the service. For that reason, it is apples to oranges."
The Village of Lisle released this statement, providing a historical context for the issue:
"The topic of Illinois American Water's system in the Oak View subdivision has been raised within the community on several occasions -- and understandably, continues to receive conversation between Village officials and Lisle's Oak View residents, particularly now, with the most recent Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC)-approved IAW rate increase. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) regulates privately-owned public utility services in the state of Illinois, including Illinois American Water, and is therefore responsible for approving all rate increases issued by the privately-owned public utility.
"The Village of Lisle was incorporated in 1956. The privately-owned water and sewer utility has been in operation in the Oak View subdivision since 1957, and there are approximately 423 metered connections. Over the decades, since its construction, the Village has made several investigations into acquiring the system.
"A task force was formed by the Village Board in 2005 to conduct fact finding, generate a report and provide options for providing water and sewer service in the Oak View Subdivision. The task force produced 15 policy options to the Village Board, eight of which were deemed "infeasible" by the task force. The other seven policy options either did not address the problem of high rates directly or were prohibitively expensive such as installing a new water system or taking legal actions to compel the sale of the system to the Village.
"In 2007, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the Village of Lisle alleging that the Village violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by not expanding water service to Oak View as it had to other subdivisions. Summary judgement as well as a subsequent appeal of said summary judgement was granted in favor of the Village (a copy of the decision is attached for reference). The Village once again inquired with Illinois American regarding the sale of the system that year. There is no record of a response from IAW.
"More recently, the Village Board has requested to review and further discuss information about the previously convened task force's findings as well as any updated information or policy options that might be available to the Village regarding water service in Oak View."
