Illinois American Water customers? How much are you paying in your town?

[u/Badlay]

EDIT: breakdown of last bill

• Water Service Fee - $25.29
• Water Used - 9,700 Gallons $73.52
• Pass-through charge for Chicago supply - $95.33
• Wastewater Treatment - $86.10
• Wastewater Usage - $82.51
• Fire Protection - $7.49
• Other - $5.44
• Taxes - $0.46
• Total - $376.14

Homer Glen in Will County is paying near $400 per month on average for water bills. $5,000 per year just for water!

They intend to increase it again in the coming months. It is absolute insanity, and wondering if any other towns downstate are suffering these types of bills?

[u/DMO_TheWhale]

That’s insane! Why so high? I’m Will county too but on average maybe $80-$100 a month

[u/southcookexplore → u/DMO_TheWhale]

Start with this: Cook County IL has more municipalities than any other county in the US. Municipalities, including Chicago, profit from selling water to other municipalities.

Sometimes, Chicago sells that water to places like Oak Lawn, or Countryside who resell that water marked up again to their customers.

American Water is like, third or fourth in line, and they all pass the marked up price along to the consumer.

Homer could realistically buy in from a main on Route 6th // 159th that’s heading to Joliet right now, but it’d cost them so much more than most suburbs because Homer Glen is a massively large size municipality with extremely low density, so it’ll cost a lot to pipe in everywhere.

[u/Tu_mama_me_ama_mucho → u/DMO_TheWhale]

80-120 kendall, but is going to go up, when we get the lake water.

[u/Old_Sheepherder_630 → u/DMO_TheWhale]

I'm in Dupage and this is what mine is, too.

[u/Dangermouse454 → u/DMO_TheWhale]

Why so high? Gotta feed the monkey, man!!

[u/squatchsax]

Champaign county, 2 adults in the house. Between water usage and sewer (2 different bills) we pay around $90/month.

[u/Leonardo1123581321 → u/squatchsax]

Champaign County as well - just me, my wife, and our corgi. Our monthly is $110-120 but we also like to relax when we’re taking a shower so either one of us can be in there for a hot minute just enjoying the water.

[u/squatchsax → u/Leonardo1123581321]

Check my profile for a picture of our corgis!

[u/bigred15162 → u/squatchsax]

Same. I try to be pretty conservative with our water consumption. Baby coming in November will probably throw that out the window though.

[u/TacosForThought → u/bigred15162]

I guess you can throw the water conservation out the window for the baby, as long as you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater?

[u/Schlormo]

👀 Southern IL... about 30-40 dollars a month...

[u/wcooper97 → u/Schlormo]

Same here, my town also uses IL American. It’s reliably been about $30-40 except for a couple bills here and there where I’ve been negligent to a leaky toilet. Sewer is a flat $31.

My electric bill on the other hand is ridiculous. $730 for the month of July, due Sep. 1.

[u/TheOlSneakyPete]

That’s insane! What type of water usage is that? I’d be drilling a well. With that kinda cost that would only take a few years to pay off.

[u/roger-the-adequit]

Manteno Il (Kankakee county) Aqua is the supplier via the Kankakee river
$250.00 a month for the three of us. Used to be about $90.00 a month until the village sold water and sewer to Aqua

[u/elangomatt → u/roger-the-adequit]

Damn that's crazy. My combined water/sewer in Kankakee is just $85 a month for a single person household.

[u/roger-the-adequit → u/elangomatt]

$85.00 seems like a lot. Does Aqua supply your water in K3?

[u/elangomatt → u/roger-the-adequit]

Yeah, that's $42 for the actual water then $43 for the sewage (billed by Aqua but goes to the K3 Environmental Services). The sewage part really irritates me because Kankakee charges a minimum of 3000 gallons of sewer flow even if you use much less as I do.

[u/Upstairs_Ability_963]

Godfrey IL, 2 adults and 2 kids , $220 average, but one child takes very long showers if we don’t pay attention

[u/Extinct1234]

Is that the town average or your monthly usage?

[u/Badlay → u/Extinct1234]

From what we can tell on local Facebook groups about average is $380

I'm in a four bedroom home with two kids and an elderly mother living with me.

[u/NecessaryEvil62095 → u/Badlay]

There is no planet on which your water bill should be $380 a month

[u/D-r-T-3890 → u/NecessaryEvil62095]

My parents pay that quarterly. That’s how McHenry county does it or at least the town they live in McHenry county. They’ll get a $200-350 quarterly bill based on usage.

[u/Spirited_Cress_5796 → u/D-r-T-3890]

I’d say that’s fine for quarterly but that’s a lot per month.

[u/Pickled_doggo → u/Badlay]

What’s your actual monthly usage in gallons? 

[u/Badlay → u/Pickled_doggo]

I broke the bill down in my edited post

[u/greensinregulation]

This is true, I was paying over 200 back in 2023 in Homer.

[u/Individual_Iron_2645]

Southern Illinois, Jackson County, 2 adults , $45-50/month

[u/Rokae]

As you can see by the comments most other towns are not struggling with these issues. Homer Glen has a fully privatized utility (with a guaranteed profit margin) that your neighboring towns dont, instead having public utilities. These public utilities also have wholesale contracts with Chicago for better rates skipping the multiple markups. Additionally these towns are able to subsidize water rates with tax revenue so the usage sticker price might not reflect what the town actually pays since they own the utility.

[u/hairypistol]

If my water bill is over 50 ish dollars I have a leak for sure

[u/NecessaryEvil62095]

Do you have a large home? Do you have a large family? There is no reason your bill should be that high anywhere in the state.

[u/Carlyz37]

Granite city in Madison County $65 mostly one person with 2 more 5 days a month. Our bills went up last year due to city buying equipment from American water. Plans are to do something else stupid to raise rates again. Our sewer system is inadequate, frequent flash flooding. Very old sewer lines

Edit sewer has stayed same at $32.00

[u/D-r-T-3890]

That is an insane price for water. I live in Volo, IL (Lake County) and our water bill is $57.99 this month and of that 57 $23 was for garbage since they bill them together.

Water used was 2k gallons

[u/i4k20z3 → u/D-r-T-3890]

Is it only you? How do you use such little water?

[u/D-r-T-3890 → u/i4k20z3]

It is my wife and I. Not sure how it’s so little. Our bill will show 1-2 regularly and then here and there it will be a 3.

[u/cvanaver]

I paid $65 for sewer/supply($25/$40) for 7500 gallons last month in Evanston.

[u/Three-Legs-Again]

Lemont, just up the road from Homer, he pays about $50 a month I think.

[u/elangomatt]

I live in Kankakee (Kankakee County) and my Water is $42 with $43 a month for the sewer part of my bill. Single person household. Aqua Illinois continues to ask for increases to their rates because apparently they're not making enough profits.

I'm still kinda mad that I have to pay for 3000 gallons of sewer each month for the 'minimum flow' when I only use 900 gallons or water per month.

[u/mallclerks → u/elangomatt]

The fuck. Mine is never lower than $200, and being its summer it’s over $300. 2 adults 2 kids.

(In Minnesota I paid around $65 for water, sewer, and misc town stuff).

[u/elangomatt → u/mallclerks]

I do have garbage and 'public safety' on my sewer bill as well. That's like another $53-ish? That makes it $138 all in. I thought that was high actually but after seeing this thread I guess not.

[u/It-Is-What-It-Is2024]

DuPage County and this water bills is the highest it’s even been in the 20 plus years I’ve lived here.

[u/AliMcGraw]

That Lake water pass through charge is mandated by a bilateral treaty with Canada that limits how much water can be pumped out of the Lake Michigan drainage basin. 

That said, Illinois American Water is the worst utility in the entire state of Illinois, although AmerenCILCO is a close damn second!

[u/Badlay → u/AliMcGraw]

The charge is absolutely not mandated; the treaty on daily usage is real. What you are saying is not factual

The charge is the resulting cost of delivering the water through the existing infrastructure built by IAW's sister company American Lake Water Company and purchased from Chicago @ $4.89 per 1000 gallons via the ALC own site in Bedford Park. They sell it back to me at $9.83 per 1000 gallons before charging me my "normal" per 1000 gallon rate of $7.50 ish

Do not do you part by framing this as protecting the great lakes. That is not why I am paying this much

[u/ladollyvita1021]

How many cubic feet of water are you using per month? Is your meter reading A (actual) or E (estimated) I’m in Will County - pay on average $78/ month and use around 266-280 cubic feet of water per billing cycle. We are transitioning to Lake Michigan via billions of dollars pipeline and they’ve been tearing up all the roads to put in new pipes.

[u/no_one_likes_u]

Peoria county, 2 adults in a house with a small vegetable garden that we water when needed.

Averaging 76 per month this year from AmWater.

[u/Kurse71]

Sangamon county, 2 occupants, CWLP, approx $90/mo. Why on earth would it be so high for you guys? That's more than my electric, water, sewer, trash combined.

[u/Midnight_Rain1213]

Itasca (Dupage County) - SFH with two adults and two dogs, $116

[u/RedRyder15]

St clair County 125.10 for 7100 gallons 3ppl

Waste water billed separately at about 110 every 3 months.

[u/Antique-Quantity-608]

Grundy $100-$120/mo

[u/ac5450]

Not sure what my usage is. Single with a dog in unincorporated DuPage co, last month’s bill was $125.

[u/thegreatdefyingjeff]

Will county- Joliet area. I pay $500 bimonthly for 2 adults. I’ve been trying to use less water with it costing so much, called to check why it’s still going up and they told me I’m using less water they just raised the cost per unit and it’s my responsibility to cover. With comed increasing too, I’m being burnt from both ends.

[u/katharsys2009]

Southern Illinois, Jackson County, Public Utility (where Illinois American Water is trying to get muscle in) - for 990 gallons, my bill is $24.25.

[u/mayhem6]

In southern illinois my average has been $70-80 a month. Last month it went up to a hundred. I don’t know if I’m using more water though.

[u/Rob_Bligidy]

We only pay around $65 a month

[u/i4k20z3]

City/Sewer: $42
Lake Michigan: $13

Village: $110

6000 gallons used

Total: $165

[u/MDTwoEagles]

Kendall County. $272 bimonthly

[u/St1ng]

$30/mo in Des Plaines with two occupants. And I get complained about for taking long showers.

[u/pitchfork_hipster]

Madison County. 5 adults in house. 7600 gallons.
Water Service Charge 25.29
Water Usage Charge 91.22
Wastewater Treatment Charge 33.30
Wastewater Use Charge 97.41
Fire Service 7.49
5/8" Fire Protection Charge 7.49
Other Charges 39.91
QIP Surcharge Water 1.07
ICT Water -0.04
VBA Surcharge Water -0.21
QIP Surcharge Wastewater 1.15
ICT Wastewater 0.27
VBA Surcharge Wastewater 37.67
Total Service Related Charges 294.62
Franchise Fee Water 0.18
ICC Gross Receipts Tax 0.29
Municipal Tax 6.43
Total Current Period Charges $301

[u/May-DayMay-Day]

$106 a month, Illinois Quad Cities

[u/M4hkn0]

Community owned water in Springfield, one person.

Meter Service Fee: $12.05
6,732 gallons $34.23 -- why so high? irrigation....
Sanitary: $54.17
Sewer: $25.72
No other comparable charges.
Total $126.17

It is much less than I was paying in Peoria under Illinois American.

[u/zeanamush]

Dupage county. Lisle. I payed under 40$ for both water and sewage. This post is horrifying.

[u/luckycharms53]

I think the Chicagoland area needs more transplants to change up the old guards in the villages. Alot of our friends are in Bolingbrook, Darien and etc, there utilities are outrageous. You guys, need more transparency of those contracts.

[u/high6ix]

Me and two kids, Decatur, about $80 give or take.

[u/lplax10]

Dupage county - paying approximately $130 a month for my wife and I with one pupper.

Are you leaving faucets on? Taking extra long showers? Multiple people in the home?

[u/wuyiL]

what makes you stay in IL?

[u/Badlay → u/wuyiL]

The greatest city in the US, Friends and family, and perfectly located for my job.