Residents can ask about water bills
By Susan DeMar Lafferty slafferty@southtownstar.com August 29, 2012 8:00PM
Updated: October 1, 2012 5:08PM
Will County residents who have been complaining about exorbitant water bills this summer will have a chance to raise questions about their service with Aqua Water in two upcoming open house programs.
The first is from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Willowbrook Lodge on East Willowbrook Trail and Cedar Lane in Crete Township.
Another session is from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 12 at University Park Town Center, 90 Town Center.
Aqua customers in Crete, Monee and Green Garden townships have complained that their water bills more than doubled this summer and ranged between $400 and $600.
Those in Crete Township questioned why they have much higher rates than others in Will County. The water quality also is very poor, they said.
Craig Blanchette, Aqua’s vice president of operations, said this is the third year the private water company has held these open houses.
Any Aqua customer can come to either session and ask questions, he said.
“This is a community outreach, to better connect with our customers,” Blanchette said.
He acknowledged that Aqua has received a “quite a few calls” about extremely high water bills this summer, which have come on the heels of a February rate increase and a very hot, dry summer.
“The drought really played a factor” in producing high water bills this summer, Blanchette said. “We want to help them understand the rates better.”
Aqua serves University Park and portions of Monee, and Green Garden Township, Monee Township and parts of Crete Township.
