Village officials in Lisle working with residents paying higher water bills for possible solution

People in a section of Lisle, Illinois, said their water bills are getting higher and higher, as they are forced to use a private utility company. Now the Village is taking a closer look at ways to change that by hosting a special open house last night.

Water is a hot topic in Lisle and has been for quite some time. Village officials are making moves to address concerns.

Water was the center focus of Monday night's town hall meeting, as part of the village said they saw their bills three times higher than their neighbors' after being forced to use the private utility company, Illinois American Water. 

"You can certainly appreciate the concerns of residents who are experiencing these very high bills," said Lisle Village Manager Jeff Cook. 

Cook said they're engaging the community to work on solutions.

"We need to kind of get a sense of where our public is at," he said.

One option includes a rebate program for the section of the community paying higher water rates to a private company, but that could mean residents who get their water from the village seeing a slight increase.

"I'm sympathetic, uh, but I've got a lot of utility costs myself already. So whether I want to subsidize somebody else's water bill, I'm, I'm not convinced yet," said resident Bob Packenham.

Illinois American Water did not appear at the Town Hall meeting to address questions. Spokespeople for the utility company said they chose to share informational resources instead.

"We are billed at the least $180 a month. There are some people that are paying $300 a month," said resident Susan Srail. 

Srail is one of the residents paying those higher water bills. She's been outspoken about the issue for years, even taking it on herself to promote it in her front yard.

"We are being treated unequally. That's all we are asking for. We are asking for equal treatment," she said.

Srail said she's disappointed, but hopeful something comes of this Village effort. What she and others want is to get and pay for village water.

"I want village water for the people here," she said.

Another open house meeting is planned for this weekend. Village officials said they plan to present information to their board following public input next month.