An Aqua Illinois customer brought photos of her water to a hearing held on Monday at McHenry County College. The private water utility company is asking the Illinois Commerce Commission to approve a rate hike that customers say will add $30 a month to their water bills.
Janelle Walker/Shaw Local News Network
Northern Illinois residents traveled to McHenry County College this week to comment on private water and sewer utility Aqua Illinois’ request for a rate increase.
Aqua Illinois customers, advocacy groups and lawmakers appealed to the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject the proposed water rate increase.
Company President David Carter said at the hearing on Monday that Aqua has not increased its rates in more than six years.
In that time, he said, the company completed $280 million in infrastructure improvements in Illinois, and operating costs have risen.
Jim Chilsen, communications director for the Citizens Utility Board, pointed out a weeklong water outage in 2023 followed by a recent boil order in Hawthorn Woods — and previously reported lead in water tests — as reasons the commerce commission should turn down the request.
“While customers suffer high bills and poor service, Aqua laughs all the way to the bank,” Chilsen said.
The nearly two dozen customers who spoke on Monday night said they want to see the problems they have experienced fixed before the company can increase rates. Customers say the proposal would add about $30 a month to their bills.
Several Lake County residents recounted the weeklong water line break in July 2023.
Stella Senning of Kildeer said that when the company started giving residents bottled water during the incident, they were only allowed three gallons per day.
“It took you all three days to start providing us water,” Senning said.
McHenry County Board member Pam Althoff said she’s been following private utilities throughout her 40 years in local government.
“Like any other utility, Aqua can raise rates, and there is no guarantee” that improvements will be made, she said, adding residents do not receive value for the higher cost they pay.
To even consider the rate hike, Althoff said, Aqua should be required to show “what improvements these people can expect and in what time frame.”
The company is doing things to improve water, Carter said, noting that all of its customers across the state pay into the same pool for infrastructure improvements. While some money might not be going into one system, he said it is going into another.
“There are a lot of costs that go into managing a community,” Carter said.
Aqua Illinois provides water and, in some cases, sewer services to 280,000 customers across 14 Illinois counties, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will, according to its website, aquawater.com.