City of Evanston Blog
Articles Posted in: Water and Sewer
Condos and Changing Water Rates
A blog commenter recently asked about how the changes to water rates impact residents of condominiums. I asked Kevin Lookis from our Utilities Department for an explanation. Here is his note back: "Condos and businesses are billed on the basis of the water entering the building for all types of uses. This includes not only water that is used for drinking, cooking, bathing, etc. but also for use in the HVAC system (boiler and cooling system make-up water, etc.), hot…
2009 Water and Sewer Annual Report
The Utilities Department issued their "2009 Water and Sewer Annual Report" this week. It can be found on the department's website (PDF).…
Water and Sewer Funding Adjustments
The City Council's Administration and Public Works Committee will begin discussion of changes to water and sewer funding models at its meeting Monday night. This comes after several discussions with the Council over the past few months on next steps on how to raise additional revenue for these funds. All of these proposed changes would take effect on January 1, 2011. Staff is recommending a ten percent (10%) water rate increase. The existing water rate is billed as a minimum use…
Great Article on Water Treatment Plant
There is a great article explaining how Evanston treats its water for distribution in the August 4 edition of the Evanston Roundtable. The paper actually put the article on its website as a PDF so you can see the great photos from the plant that normally are not seen by the public.…
Impact to City Water Usage During Wettest June in 108 Years
There was an article in the newspaper a few days ago mentioning that June, 2010 was the wettest June in the Chicago area in 108 years. It made me wonder how this impacted Evanston water usage. In June, 2010 227,275 gallons of water were pumped from our treatment plant to Evanston customers. This is down from 2009's 258,895 gallons or a 14% decrease. The 2010 number represents a 17% decrease from 2008 usage and a 26% decrease from June 2007…
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Water/Sewer Presentation
Tonight's presentation on water and sewer fund issues can be found here (PDF).…
Newsy Items on Monday and Tuesday City Council Agendas
This week is a strange schedule for the Council. Monday is a special meeting starting at 7:30 PM. Two items on the agenda. First is a discussion of water and sewer issues. Staff will present a Powerpoint presentation to walk through the various issues facing both sewer and water. Both need more money. Sewer because of the substantial debt it has to pay off on capital projects. Water to help fund additional capital projects. We are going to propose a variety of…
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Public Works Department Reorganization
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Suzette Robinson as Director of Public Works. Suzette was selected as part of a nationwide search of public works professionals who applied for the position. Suzette has done an outstanding job as Interim Department Director while continuing her service as Superintendent of Streets and Sanitation. Suzette has been with the City of Evanston since 2006 as Superintendent of Streets and Sanitation. Before her service in Evanston, Suzette spent seven years working as…
Sewer Collapse
The 12-inch diameter combined sewer in the 1500 block of Asbury collapsed creating a complete blockage of the sewer main causing sewage to backup in the City’s sewer main serving Asbury Avenue from Lake Street to Davis Street. The actual collapse is approximately 10 feet south of manhole # 3820, or in front of 1564 Asbury. The sewer crew used the sewer cleaning machine to remove the blockage and relieve the sewage backup. The sewer is currently flowing properly. The sewer…