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Joliet official warns of inflation impact on water rates

City eying higher charges for larger, non-residential customers

By Bob Okon
Director of Public Utilities Allison Swisher presents numbers to support a water rate increase at the Joliet City Council meeting on Tuesday. Tuesday, July 19, 2022 in Joliet.

Joliet Utilities Director Allison Swisher (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawnedia.com/Gary Middendorf)

Inflation will have an impact on Joliet’s next round of water and sewer rates, the city’s utilities director said this week.

Joliet is considering shifting costs for its utilities system to larger, non-residential water users while also looking at potential assistance for low-income households as rates are expected to increase.

City staff will propose new water and sewer rates to the City Council in September.

The council heard a presentation Monday on factors likely to impact those rates.

Utilities Director Allison Swisher did not suggest what those rates may be but said “inflationary pressures” will be a factor.

“I think anyone who goes to the grocery store has seen inflationary pressure on their bills,” Swisher told the council. “That’s no different in utilities.”

Joliet monthly water bills alone, now in the average range of $36, already had been estimated to reach $88 by 2030 to pay for the Lake Michigan water project. That estimate was made before inflationary trends hit the economy.

The city also has been replacing all water mains built before 1970 in a multi-year program that will cost $52 million in 2023. Swisher said the city’s utility system has other needs, including replacement of an aging network of lift stations.

Pipe for the Ingalls Avenue water main project is stacked up along a side street on Thursday, July 6, 2023 in Joliet.

Pipe for the Ingalls Avenue water main project now underway are seen earlier this month stacked on a side street. (Bob Okon)

“We also have increased maintenance costs due to our aging system and deferred maintenance,” Swisher said.

Meanwhile, inflation is more than doubling the cost of construction and maintenance, Swisher said.

She said construction costs are rising at a rate of 7.2%, compared to a historical trend of 3.1%. The cost of materials is rising at a rate of 15.1%, compared to a historical trend of 3.7%, she said.

Joliet water and sewer rates remain on the low end in a comparison with 17 other regional communities, according to a chart shown at the presentation.

“Despite some relatively meaningful increases in the last few years, since about 2016, you remain regionally competitive,” said David Naumann with Burns & McDonnell, an engineering and consulting firm hired by the city to help plan future water and sewer rates.

Naumann said the proposed rates in September will likely include higher costs for larger users and provisions to make more households eligible for lifeline rates designed for affordability.

The council is expected to vote on the next round of water rates in October. They would be put in effect in November.