Water

For billing questions or payment extensions please call (847) 746-4008.
For reading or service please call (847) 746-4060.

Applications and Deposits

Municipal Code Section 94 requires any owner starting a new water, sewer, and/or waste service to make application with the City of Zion and pay a deposit of $200 for residential properties 4 units and less. Multi-unit residential properties that are 5 units and more, a deposit in the amount of $125 per unit is required. Any person who currently owns real estate in the City and has a nondelinquent payment record for the last five (5) years water service shall be exempt from the deposit requirements if the service being applied for will be for their personal residence. The exemption does not apply to rental or lease property.

Deposits are held for two (2) years with non-delinquent payment record then refunded to the customer with interest.

Any person acquiring rental properties for the purpose of obtaining income would be required to pay deposits on all properties up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500.00). All accounts shall be in the owner’s name with an application signed for each property.

The City of Zion agrees to pay to any person posting a deposit for water, sewer, and/or waste interest on the deposit at four (4) per cent per annum. Interest shall be due and payable at such time a final bill is paid, along with any other amounts due the City of Zion, unless refunded according to paragraph 2 above.

Final Readings

A final reading is required when you are selling your property. It is your responsibility to set an appointment for a final water meter reading to insure yourself against future liability for water usage.

When taking a final reading, we must be able to obtain a reading inside at the meter.

Water will be shut off at the time a final reading is taken unless the new owner has made a deposit and signed a contract for water service in advance of the final reading.

If the property will be vacant for an extended length of time, we suggest the meter be removed and stored for protection.

Billing Information

The City of Zion is divided into three (3) sections for billing purposes. A customer will receive a bill every three (3) months for water, sewer, and waste. The following is our billing procedures: Water meters are read between the 1st & 15th of the month.

Bills are prepared and mailed out the last day of the month.

The penalty date is twenty (20) days from the billing date.

Three (3) days after the penalty date, termination of service notices are mailed out to all unpaid accounts.

Please call (847) 746-4008 if you have questions about your bill or dispute any amount shown on the bill, or should you need additional time to pay your bill. Payments after the due date incur a penalty of 5% of the water and sewer total.

Note: Bills are considered paid when they are received at City Hall, not the date they are mailed. The City is not responsible for late payment because of mail delivery. The City has a drop box depository outside the main door at City Hall for payments when City Hall is closed.

Section I

Streets

Edina, Elizabeth, Lake Front, Deborah, Ebenezer, Hilltop, Elim, Sheridan, Elisha, Emmaus, Colgate, Enoch, Eshcol, Holdridge, Bethesda, Bethel, and Ezekiel.

Sub-divisions

Sunset Ridge, Butterfield Place, Countrywood Hills, Harbor Ridge and Zion Senior Cottages.

Section II

Streets

Ezra, Gabriel, Sharon Place, Gideon, Clover Lane, Gilboa, Gilead, Galilee, Hebron, Hermon, Horeb and Jethro.

Section III

Streets

Joanna, Joppa, Lewis, Stella, Lydia, Lowery, Calvary, Industrial, Matthew, Willow, 18th, 16th, 17th, Camp Logan, Ravine, Logan, Thompson, Winthrop, 19th, Kedron, Wilson, 20th, Barnhart, 21st, 23rd, Shiloh, Salem, 26th, 27th, 29th, 30th, Lebanon, 31st, Horizon, Greenbay, Carmel, 32nd, 33rd, Yale, 34th, Paxton, Marguerite, Oak Forest, Michigan, Channey, Crissy, Coolidge, Lorelei, Gregory, Timothy, Douglas, Franklin, Brigadoon, Highland, Tarton, Thistle, Shetland, and Luckie.

Sub-divisions

Brighton Ponds, Lorelei Acres, Stonebridge, Cypress Park, Shepherds Crossing, Shepherds Point, and Trumpet Park.

Termination of Water Service

Water Shut Off’s

If water service is terminated for nonpayment, there is a $110.00 turn off/on fee, $55 each, to restore water service. This fee must be paid in full in addition to the unpaid balance of the account before the water will be turned back on to the building.

Payments to restore water service after termination must be made by cash payment, money order or certified bank check.

Water service terminations (cut-off) will not be done on Fridays.

The City will provide restorations (turn-on) of water service within 24 hours after account balances have been paid. No after hours (5:00 P.M.) restoration (turn-on) of water service.

A resident, owner or other person must be home at the time water service is restored (turned on).

A $110.00 turn off/on fee, $55 each, each non-payment fee will be charged to every account if not paid in full by the terminations (turned-off) date. This policy will be waived for all extensions approved.

The Water Department Supervisor is granted authority to deal with extraordinary circumstances that could determine termination or restoration of water service. The Water Department Supervisor must support his findings in writing to the City Council.

Water Turn On Policy

The Water Department shall reinstate water service to the customer within twenty-four (24) hours of the Water Department’s receipt of the complete payment including all fees. At the time of turning water service back on the owner or occupant must be present or the Water Department will not restore service.

Requests for Turn on/turn off of Service

In the event a property owner or realtor requests that water service be shut off or re-instated at a premises for the purposes of testing, inspections, repairs or any other reason, a $110.00 turn off/turn on fee, of $55.00 each, shall be charged for the termination and restoration of water service.

Water Bill Extension Policy

Definitions Of Requests For Extensions:

Residents who are not able to pay their regular quarterly utility bill can request an extension of the cut-off date for payment. Call (847) 746-4008 to make this request.

Policy:

Residents must pay 50% of the utility bill to receive an extension.

The penalty amount must be paid.

The owner of the property must sign the extension contract in person on or before the penalty due date on the bill. Picture ID required.

No extension will be granted if any outstanding fines, liens, tickets or bills (including other water bills) are owed to the city by the property owner and/or tenant.

If default on a prior extension occurred, no further extensions will be granted.

Violating the payment terms of the extension agreement will result in termination of service.

Policy Concerning Cut Off Of Service

Residential Accounts:

Single family and two (2) units: The cut-off policy will be followed, subject to the above two policies. Three (3) units and over: Prior to cut-off of water service, a| “Notice of Termination” must be posted on the property notifying residents of the termination date. Residents of the property will have the right to pay the bill and take legal action against the owner/landlord for reimbursement.

Business Accounts:

Prior to the water service being terminated to any business, a personal visit and notification will be made by the Water Department. After this notification is made, the current policy will be followed.

Sewer and Refuse Only

The sewer portion of the city utility bills not paid by the due date will result in a 10% or minimum penalty of $5.00 being assessed against the account.

High Bills

Payment Plan for Excessively Large Water Bills below:

Definition Of Excessively Large Bills:

Any water bill in which the usage is 20% more than previous usage and over $200.00. Bills under the $200.00 amount would qualify for the extension for payment as outlined in Section II of this policy.

Procedure:

Residents who receive a city utility bill reflecting a water reading which is unusual in nature, based upon prior water usage, are encouraged to call City Hall or the Water Department and request an inspection of their meter and usage to determine if the bill reflects valid usage. The Water Department will investigate the water usage and determine if the water usage is the result of faulty plumbing or a malfunctioning meter. The resident will be advised of the determination. In an effort to avoid residents receiving excessively large water bills reflecting larger than normal usage, the Water Department will implement a system of notifying the Finance Department of larger than normal usage (20% or higher). After receiving notification of an excessively large water meter reading by the Water Department, the Finance Department `will notify the resident by mail to inform them of the water reading in an effort to determine if there is a reason for the larger than usual usage. If there is no known reason for the larger than usual usage, the resident will be advised that the Water Department will then investigate the usage and notify them of their finding. If the usage is determined to be valid and not the result of a faulty meter reading, the following payment schedule will be available for residents to utilize in paying the water bill.

The amount for the total utility bill, as compared to the average utility bill, will be used in determining the payment schedule and amount.

Payment Amount and Schedule:

$200-$399 – To be paid over the next two (2) months in equal payment per month

$400-$599 – To be paid over the next three (3) months in equal payments per month

$600-$799 – To be paid over the next six (6) months in equal payments per month

$800 and over – To be paid over the next nine (9) months in equal payments per month.

All excessive usage payment schedules are provided with the following requirements:

Leaks

A lot of water flows from just a little leak. A deceptively small drip can waste 170 gallons a day, and more than 1000 gallons a day can pour through a leak only one-sixteenth inch in size.

If your water consumption has increased lately for no explainable reason it could be that you have water leaks in your house that you may not be aware of – and your toilet may be the culprit!

Toilets are notorious for their hidden leaks. When a toilet is out of adjustment or when its parts are worn, the toilet can waste thousands of gallons of water. If not repaired right away it will only get worse. In most cases the water loss is undetected.

Usually a toilet leaks at the overflow pipe or at the plunger-ball. If it is at the overflow, it’s generally because the overflow pipe develops a leak below the water level. Sometime the valve is worn and will run like a leaky faucet. If this is the case you will need to replace it. Most overflow leaks can be detected by a visual inspection although some are not always that obvious.

A plunger-ball leak is not as easy to see, but there is an easy way to check for this type of leak. Simply drop a little food coloring into the tank and wait to see if it shows up in the bowl. If it does you may either need to replace the ball or it may just be that the mechanism is out of alignment. Even if you don’t see color in the bowl another indication that you should replace the ball is if you occasionally have to jiggle the toilet handle to get the toilet to stop running or if you hear your toilet running when no one has use it.

A good idea is to regularly check all your plumbing fixtures for leaks. Early detection can save you money.

Cross Connections

A cross connection is any actual or potential link between the water system and any other liquid or gas. While most of us think of our water as always being under pressure and therefore flowing in only one direction, a drop in pressure caused by a line break, a repair project, or fire hydrant use can cause a reversal of flow that could pull or siphon unwanted material into the water system. There have been incidents in cities where soapy, dirty water from a car wash contaminated the water for several blocks; where antifreeze from an air conditioner contaminated a school water system; and where pesticides were backsiphoned into 14 homes because a garden hose was placed in the mixing barrel. The city’s goal is to assure all our residents of safe drinking water. We want you to be sure that the very last user on our lines has water that is just as safe as the very first user and that nothing has entered the system in between.

For this reason the Water Division has implemented a cross connection program.

By ordinance, all plumbing installed within the city shall be installed in accordance with the Illinois Plumbing Code, 77 ILL. Adm. Code 890, and exhibit “A” (which is on file and available for inspection in the city clerk’s office).

Any new service, where prior water service was a well, must be carefully inspected for a cross-connection.

Yearly certified inspections of cross connection control devices installed in certain commercial, industrial and other properties.