As a community-owned water supply, CWLP staff took great care in putting together a water rate increase proposal that retains great value to our customers and also provides funding for important projects for the operations and maintenance of the City’s water system. The plan calls for strategic investment in vital water infrastructure in order to continue to provide reliable high quality water and concurrently, also meet the required State mandates for lead service line replacements for our customers.

On Tuesday, February 20, 2024 the Springfield City Council approved the request for a two-year phased-in water rate increase of 32% on the total CWLP Water Charges beginning March 1, 2024 and another 32% on the total CWLP Water Charges beginning March 1, 2025. With these increases an annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Water, Sewer and Trash adjustment will be applied each year starting March 1, 2026.
Video of CWLP’s Full Budget Presentation CWLP’s Budget Presentation PDF Water Rate Increase Proposal Overview

How will the CWLP water rate increase apply to my bill?

On Page 1 of your CWLP bill you will find two lines with water charges, labeled and showing a cost per unit as “First/Next 5 Units/Over 10 Units…” and the “Water Monthly Customer Charge.” If you multiply the total amount of the line “Water Charges” by 1.32, you can calculate an estimate for the Year 1 CWLP increase based on the usage for that bill, and by multiplying that amount by 1.32 again, you can calculate an estimate for the Year 2 CWLP increase based on the usage for that bill.

As an example, the FY25 rate increase represents about 15 cents per day on a household’s bill if using 5 units or 3,740 gallons of water, which would go from $14.78 to $19.51. For more perspective, a gallon of water delivered to the tap to our customers with this increase still costs under a penny per gallon. CWLP’s water rates remain the lowest in the state even with this proposed first year increase of 32%.

Why is a water rate increase needed?

This is the first water rate increase CWLP has requested since the last phased increases completed in 2011, which funded a near top to bottom upgrade of our Water Purification Plant and its High and Low service pump stations. The last water rate increase approved that covered increased costs for operations and maintenance of the water system was 2003 to 2004.

The rate increase approved this year plans ahead for the next two budgets and into the future for larger bonded projects along with addressing current debt and a structural cash deficit in the water fund due to not having enough revenues to cover the increasing costs of operations. The largest project need for this rate increase will provide funds required to address a new State mandate. Beginning in 2027, Illinois cities must replace all lead service lines in their service territories. There are an estimated 11,000 lead service lines in CWLP’s Water Distribution System that exist in CWLP’s Water Distribution System in Springfield’s pre-1930s construction. These lines are part utility-owned and customer-owned and the estimated cost to replace is $150 million.

Other communities such as Bloomington, Quincy and Decatur, to name a few, are also either currently increasing or soon increasing their water rates in order to meet increased regulations on lead service line replacements and other infrastructure needs, signaling that these cities with the City of Springfield are being prudent in investing in this work now.

What projects will be funded?

In FY25 in first set of major projects, we will begin water main replacements with the goal of reaching of 1% of system or 7 miles per year, and also continue work to be ahead of the State’s lead service line mandate, which requires the replacement of the estimated 11,000 of these lines that exist in the CWLP Water Distribution system in Springfield’s pre-1930s construction. Under that mandate, the City has 20 years to complete all of its replacements, which are estimated at a total cost of $150 million.

CWLP’s lead service line replacement program began in 2019 with about 700 replacements completed to date, which included all licensed day cares and schools and many homes with low income families needing assistance. To cover the cost of the private homeowner portion of the lead service line, CWLP has utilized $5 million in IEPA State Revolving Fund (SRF) grant funds to complete those projects to date. CWLP is currently applying for another round of IEPA SRF funding and will continue to route these monies to help cover the cost of replacements for homeowners.

For more information on lead service lines and drinking water safety, visit our information page, https://cwlp.com/LeadAwareness.aspx.

Bill assistance and Savings With Water Conservation

If financial troubles are making it difficult for you to make payments on your CWLP bill, our Customer Service Office (217.789.2030) will provide assistance with a level payment option or a payment plan for your monthly bill.

We also like to help our customers reduce their water usage and be sure to find and fix water leaks to ensure that they don’t waste that resource and face higher bills. Our Energy Services Office is tasked with providing a variety of services designed to help our residential and commercial customers evaluate their electric and water usage and monthly bill.

Implementing water conservation measures and identifying and fixing leaks is a way to reduce your water usage and yield bill savings. Our Energy Services Office is ready to assist and can provide technical assistance with your water and energy usage (217.789.2070 or nrgxprts@cwlp.com). This office offers a number of rebates for HE toilets, rain barrels and more, plus a number of ways to find and fix leaks along with conservation tips.

About non-CWLP services for sewer that appear on the CWLP bill

There are sewer and sanitary services on the CWLP bill that are collected as a courtesy and as a billing cost savings measure for Public Works and the Sangamon County Water Reclamation District (SCWRD). These charges appear on Page 2 of the CWLP bill and include the Public Works Sewer charges, which were approved by the City Council to increase by 32% on March 1 of this year and another 32% on March 1 of 2025 and the SCWRD Charges, which their board approved rates to increase effective May 1 for their sanitary/sewer services provided.