Regarding your story on Chicago’s non-metered water rates (Page 1, Sept. 17):
I think you were comparing apples and oranges with your statement that the average Chicagoan pays about $127 a year compared to someone in the suburbs, where an average bill is about $300. I would guess that many more Chicagoans than suburban residents live on 25-foot lots or in multiple-family dwellings with no grass to water. Also that more suburbanites than Chicagoans have two or more baths, in-ground or above-ground pools, etc.
My bill in Northbrook for my small lot (which, incidentally, was not watered once this summer, with no ill effect) and no pool is a metered $180 a year. I use only 7,000 to 8,000 gallons of water each quarter. Your story indicated that residents in one suburb use that much per month.
Rather than an article on Chicagoans paying too little for their water, a more compelling story might be to explore how much of this natural resource many people are squandering.
