Chicago's water is largely provided by one of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan. Nearly 80 percent of Chicago turns to Lake Michigan for its water, and the suburban communities that surround the metropolis depend on the lake for water as well.
In recent years, water rates in Chicagoland have increased sharply, and the increase has been found by the Chicago Tribune to affect low-income black residents the most. In the city of Chicago alone, rates have increased by 90 percent since 2012.
Everyone in Chicago pays the same amount for their water, but the same is not true for the towns and municipalities that circle the city.
The Tribune found that the median water bills within predominantly African American townships are 20 percent higher than those within predominantly white communities.
And things look even worse when you look at communities by income level.
Towns with median household incomes in the bottom 10 percent of the region pay 31 percent more a month for water than towns do with a median household income in the top 10 percent.
Of the 10 towns with the highest water rates, 50 percent of them are predominantly black towns.
“[Chicagoland] residents are experiencing a regressive kind of tax that is having a significant impact on their quality of life,” said Texas Southern University urban planning and environmental justice professor Robert Bullard.
“We call that environmental injustice because people who have the lowest amount of money are forced to pay the most for basic services,” he continued.
Some local officials however argue that water bills aren't rising for sinister reasons, but because shrinking suburbs and small towns need to money. As industries move away and its residents age, many cities find their tax base smaller than it once was.
“If you need revenue for your municipality and you don’t have a sales tax base and you don’t really have a property tax base, whoever you do have, whether they’re poor or a mom and pop store, they still need water. It’s a relatively dependable revenue base,” noted Josh Ellis, Metropolitan Planning Council vice president.
Raising money to run the city isn't the only thing driving up prices.
Old pipes are also a problem. Community leaders say towns pass along costs involved with water lost from cracked pipes and leaky hydrants. Some towns are working to replace these old pipes, and these costs too are passed on.
It is believed 25 billion gallons of water are lost every year in the Chicagoland area due to old pipes, at a cost of $44 million to residents.
And, that's not all. Chicago draws and purifies most of the area's water. It sells its clean, potable water to towns and suburbs. And many of those towns and suburbs resell that water to communities further from the lake at marked up prices. So, the further from the lake you are, the more you probably have to pay for your water.
For instance, Chicago sells water to McCook for $19.05 for 5,000 gallons.
McCook sells that same water to Countryside for $24.30 for 5,000 gallons; Countryside sells the water to far south suburb Indian Head Park for $29.90 and Indian Head Park sells the same water that originally cost $19.05 for $54.50.
Of course, all of these high rates and markups are severely affecting the lives of residents.
“I couldn’t finish my breakfast,” said 77-year-old Robert Hylton, a western suburb resident who had his water shut off in May while he was washing dishes. “I threw everything in the garbage.”
Though Hylton had paid part of the water bill and hoped to participate in a payment plan, it wasn't enough.
“You owe them a dime, they cut you off,” he said. “They have been very dirty to me. Very dirty. If I had enough money to get a lawyer, I would sue them.”
“It’s horrible. It really is,” said 75-year-old Illora Walker, who finds it hard to make ends meet on her fixed income even with the discounted water bill for seniors.
“By the time I pay my rent, light, gas and water, it’s over,” she continued. “The money is gone.” As such, Walker makes extra money by collecting aluminum cans and saves money by eating free at the neighborhood senior center.
Unfortunately, since the state of Illinois doesn't regulate towns' water rates, things aren't likely to change any time soon. As of right now, cities and towns can charge whatever they'd like for water, and the rates could go even higher.
The Citizens Utility Board encourages angry and frustrated residents to band together and complain to their local elected officials. And some have tried.
Western suburb resident Charlene McFadden says she has spent a lot of time and effort talking to her local officials about the rising prices, but said doing so has been like "talking to a brick wall."
McFadden added the the officials, "Come up with all of these excuses.”
Her town, though, doesn't tolerate excuses for nonpayment of bills, as one of McFadden's neighbors, Lowanda Moore found out. Moore's mother passed a few years ago, but her town still wants its money. She's been paying, but has $9,000 left to go.
“I can see that I’m paying it down,” Moore said. “I can’t ever see paying it off.”
