Hampshire leaders say water rates will rise in July to fund aging infrastructure

Mike Reed, Village President of Hampshire, said the village will raise water rates beginning on the July water bill to pay for aging water and sewer infrastructure and mandated wastewater upgrades. “We have come to the conclusion that it's time that we need to raise water rates,” Reed said.

The rate increase follows a three-year utility master-planning process conducted with EEI, the village’s engineering consultant. Steve Dennison, vice president of EEI, said the study combined condition assessments, hydraulic modeling and a capital-improvement phasing plan to identify when components will fail and how much revenue will be needed to fix them. “There were a lot of options that were evaluated,” Dennison said; the village board selected a revenue scenario during its budget process and set the rate to take effect on the July water bill.

Why this matters: Reed and Dennison said Hampshire’s water and sewer enterprise funds must be self-sustaining. Officials described both visible costs — such as elevated tank recoating that Reed estimated previously cost roughly $400,000–$500,000 and now can exceed $800,000 — and hidden costs below the pavement. Reed noted the village maintains about 58 miles of water main and 45 miles of sanitary sewer; much of the downtown mains are 70–80 years old and include older 4-inch pipe that is undersized by today’s standards.

On wastewater compliance, Dennison said the plant has faced tighter limits on total phosphorus as part of broader watershed nutrient-control efforts and will need further upgrades. He also said the plant’s ultraviolet disinfection system is about 20 years old and has obsolete components that require replacement. “Replacement of the system is required,” he said.

Officials addressed two water-quality issues residents have asked about. Dennison said the village has been inventorying service-line materials and implementing a plan to replace lead service lines; he said state requirements call for lead-service-line replacement to begin in 2027. On PFAS, Dennison said sampling of Hampshire’s deep drinking wells has not found PFAS and that the wells are well protected from surface influence.

Impact on bills and service: Reed gave an example for a typical household: the average home uses about 11,000 gallons per billing cycle and will see an average month-to-month increase of about $19.83 under the adopted rates; smaller users will see smaller increases. On pressure and reliability, Dennison said a hydraulic model analyzed flows and pressures (industry standard roughly 40–80 psi) and identified projects to replace undersized mains and improve loops and redundancy over time; those projects are planned and phased rather than immediate overnight work.

Reed and Dennison said the village compared Hampshire’s rates against more than 30 neighboring communities and found Hampshire was previously at the low end of the spectrum. Officials characterized the decision as a pragmatic, collaborative choice to avoid future failures and to maintain compliance, while acknowledging the increases are unpopular. Reed said residents with questions can email utilitymasterplan@hampshireil.org or consult the village FAQ page, and invited residents to plant open-house events and site visits.

The village did not record a formal municipal vote in this session; Reed said the rates were adopted as part of the village budgeting process. The meeting closed with thanks to Public Works staff and the consultant team, and with the promise that the FAQ and recorded presentation will be available on the village website.