Skokie water rates to rise 15% to fund improvements tied to 2025 water-main break

Water bills in Skokie are set to likely increase this fall. 

The Skokie Village Board provided unanimous preliminary approval during a July meeting to hike the cost of water nearly 15% — from $7.64 per 100 cubic feet to $8.78 per 100 cubic feet — to fund “water, sewer, lead lines, equipment, and flood control expenditures,” village documents show. 

If trustees provide final approval of the increase during an upcoming Village Board meeting (Aug. 17), staff will gradually phase in the hike to be in full effect by Oct. 31. 

Starting Sept. 1, Skokie households’ minimum quarterly water bill will increase by $11.39 or 15%. Residents will pay $87.82 every three months for the first 1,000 cubic feet of water, and $8.78 for each 100 cubic feet billed after that minimum, according to village documents.

“I’d like to note that, even with this increase, Skokie’s water rate remains low, not just competitive, but low among our peers — significantly low among our peer communitie, one of the lowest,” Mayor Ann Tennes said during a July 20 board meeting. 

“This board has said any increases has to be linked to specific projects and services. And this increase is linked to the need for, among other things, infrastructure improvements.”

The ordinance that will raise Skokie’s water bills also includes a $40 bump to how much village residents must pay to replace lead water lines on their property by taking advantage of the Skokie’s Lead Service Line Replacement Cost-Share Program. 

After a 2022 state law prohibited the partial replacement of lead water service lines, Skokie created the cost-share program in 2023 to cap how much individuals must pay if they want to partner with the Village to replace lead lines on their property to $3,090. 

If approved, the ordinance would raise the homeowner’s share of the cost of replacing lead lines to $3,130, an increase of 1.3%, village documents show. 

According to those documents Skokie “anticipates” spending over $26 million this fiscal year as staff are “aggressively pursuing replacement and repairs” of its water and sewer infrastructure. 

Skokie’s fiscal year 2027 budget says investments to village infrastructure include conducting a water system analysis, hiring six maintenance workers to replace lead service lines, and replacing 1.7 miles of water main and up to two miles of sewer lining repairs. 

As The Record previously reported, an outside consultant determined that a “deteriorated” assembly caused a break in a water main in February 2025 that led to flooding and boil water advisories near East Prairie Road. 

The Village Board voted in April to commit $200,000 to a comprehensive assessment of the conditions of Skokie’s “significant” transmission mains in part to prevent another similar break.

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