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Highland Park water rate increases encourage conservation
Updated: March 5, 2013 4:56PM
HIGHLAND PARK — Highland Park homeowners will have even more reason to conserve water this summer.
Starting July 1, the City of Highland Park will charge more for water once a residential customer exceeds 6,000 cubic feet of water usage (60 units) within a quarterly billing period. The rate will rise again once a customer reaches 8,000 cubic feet.
On Monday (Feb. 25), the City Council approved a three-tiered pricing system aimed at encouraging conservation.
Public Works Director Rameesh Kanapareddy reported that about 75 percent of the city’s 9,000 single-family customers use 6,000 cubic feet or less within each three-month billing period. If residents stay below that threshold, they won’t be affected by the new tiered pricing.
Water usage for those customers will continue to be charged at $1.490 per unit of 100 cubic feet.
The rate will rise by 10 percent for usage between 6,000 and 8,000 cubic feet, and by an additional 5 percent for usage beyond 8,000 cubic feet.
The tiered pricing is one of several conservation measures being implemented by the city, officials said.
From May 15 to Sept. 15, the city will restrict lawn watering to every other day. Residents with odd-numbered addresses will only be allowed to water on odd-numbered days of the month and those with even-numbered addresses can water on even-numbered days.
Starting May 1, all newly-installed automatic sprinkling systems will be required to have sensors that shut off the system when it rains. ~.
