ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst’s water and sewer rates are on the high side compared to other suburbs. Yet city consultants are recommending big rate hikes.
In a study unveiled this week, Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers recommended the city hike water and sewer bills by 50 percent over the next decade. It gives alternatives on how to spread out the increases. In one of them, it suggests raising bills by 12 percent within the next year.
According to the consultants, the average Elmhurst household uses about 9,000 gallons of water every two months. For that amount, the bill is $194 currently. But under their proposal, it would rise to about $290 by 2030.
This would likely be well above cost of living increases over the next decade. Over the last 10 years, the inflation rate averaged 1.7 percent. Using that number for Elmhurst’s bimonthly, average water bill, it would increase to $228 by 2030, about $60 short of what Baxter & Woodman is recommending.
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