Lake Bluff Landowners To Start Paying New Stormwater Utility Fee

LAKE BLUFF, IL — Next month, all property owners in Lake Bluff will start paying a new fee to finance stormwater management infrastructure.

Starting July 1, a stormwater utility fee will be added to water bills. The amount of the fee varies by parcel, as it is calculated based on estimates of the amount of stormwater runoff from the property.

That means owners of property with the most runoff will pay the highest fee. There are no exemptions for nonprofits or religious organizations.

The typical homeowner will pay about $20 a month — or $60 per water bill or $240 per year — and contribute about $1 million to village coffers every year.

That revenue can be used to finance a $10 million bond to be used for infrastructure project, according to village officials.

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To calculate the new stormwater utility fee, village staff estimate the amount of "impervious surface" in each parcel in town.

"Homeowners pay based on the average amount of impervious surface present among similar nearby residences," according to village staff.

"All other properties, such as businesses, pay based on their actual property conditions as measured by plans or aerial photography," staff said in a series of answers to questions about the fee. "In both cases, the measurements are based on records the Village already has."

The stormwater utility fee follows the development of the Lake Bluff Stormwater Master Plan following the flooding in the area in July 2017.

The master plan, completed in October 2019 and last updated in March 2020, detailed more than $50 million worth of possible stormwater infrastructure improvements around the village.

Village officials are working with the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission to draw up plans to redirect the Scranton Avenue Viaduct into a new, 5-foot-wide sewer line from the viaduct, north up Sheridan Road and east along North Avenue to Lake Michigan.

That project is expected to cost about $17 million, and village trustees believe the new fee increases the possibility of receiving grant funding to help cover the cost.