Peeling the cumbersome vinyl cover off a backyard swimming pool, connecting hoses and pumps and measuring chemicals as the pool fills with water is guaranteed to produce two sets of onlookers: anxious kids who wonder why it’s taking so long for the pool to fill and curious neighbors who wonder how you’re going to pay your water bill.
If you’re considering joining the swim-at-home set, you might be surprised at the answer to the water/sewer bill worry. The town you live in and, in some cases, what part of town, determines whether you get a break on your bill when you fill your pool.
Chicago does not offer a discount, nor do many surrounding villages and towns, but some do. You simply have to call the sanitary district, village or city that sends you a sewer/water bill to find out.
“There may be some restrictions or even some cost breaks on when you can fill a swimming pool in various communities. I only know what we require,” said Dan Injerd, chief of the Lake Michigan Office of Water Resources Management, which is part of the Department of Natural Resources in Chicago. “We require that communities receiving Lake Michigan water have an ordinance for (regulating) outside water use from May 15 to Sept. 15.
“Whether residents get a break on their rate or not when filling a pool, I don’t know. The conservationist in me says they shouldn’t, but I really don’t know.”
Some public works directors, such as Jim Reynolds in Northbrook, expressed surprise that a community or sanitation district would give a cost break on a sewer bill for filling a swimming pool.
“If I gave a break for residents filling their pools, I’d have to raise something someplace else,” said Reynolds. “We get calls on this every year. But for most people who have a built-in pool, they can afford the additional $40 to $60 it would cost to fill their pool.
“We actually get more calls from residents who are anxious to fill their pools quickly than those who are concerned about saving a few dollars. We charge a small fee to let residents fill from a hydrant, which allows the resident to fill a pool in two or three hours. And we suggest that they not fill a pool in the heat of the day, and to put on a cover to keep down evaporation. Otherwise, we don’t give any breaks.”
Like Reynolds, several public works directors and superintendents said they were curious as to why a resident would be concerned over what amounts to a slight increase in a sewer bill when a swimming pool is filled.
“To put this in perspective, an average above-ground pool that’s 12 feet in diameter holds approximately 10,000 gallons of water,” said Tom Jones, public works superintendent in Oak Lawn. “You’re talking about a cost of $19 to fill a pool that size. It’s really not expensive to drain and scrub your pool and fill it with fresh water each spring. We don’t give a break here, but anyone owning a pool usually understands the costs involved in maintaining one.”
Lombard is another community that does not give a break on its sewer bill for filling a swimming pool. Len Flood, director of finance for the village, says that if pool owners are concerned about their water and sewer bill, which is combined in Lombard, they can call the village and arrange a payment plan.
“First-time pool owners don’t realize how expensive a pool can be,” said Flood “They’re not only looking at the cost of filling the pool, but at the chemicals and items that are necessary to maintain it.
But next door to Lombard, in Villa Park, the Salt Creek Sanitary Division gives credit on a resident’s sewer bill for a one-time filling of a swimming pool.
“We began this service in the early 1980s,” said Fay Zaroogian, business administrator for the Salt Creek Sanitary Division. “A swimming pool must hold 5,000 gallons or more and the resident needs to pay a $5 application fee. After we verify that the pool is being filled on the day the resident said it would be, we credit the sewer bill for the amount of water the customer used.”
In Naperville and St. Charles, where the water and sewer bills are combined in each community, summertime sewer bills are based on the resident’s average wintertime use, which runs from Sept. 15 to May 15. So even though a Naperville or a St. Charles resident fills a pool or runs a lawn sprinkler, the sewer bill for the summer months will remain the same as in winter.
“We’ve been averaging the sewer bills since we’ve had computerized billing–for at least the past 15 years,” said Allan Poole, public utilities director in Naperville. “A resident shouldn’t have to pay sewer bills on pool water. When you fill a pool and sprinkle your lawn, most of that water doesn’t go into the sewer system. Most of it drains off onto the lawn or evaporates.”
Then there are communities like Wheaton, which has two different sanitation districts with two different policies on how much a resident can save on a sewer bill when filling a pool.
Bob Clavel, water superintendent for the Wheaton Sanitary District, says customers pay a summer sewer fee based on wintertime use. Wheaton Sanitary District averages wintertime use, just as Naperville and St. Charles does, with one difference: “If a resident uses more than the wintertime sewer usage, the summer bill will go up, but never more than 130 percent of the wintertime bill,” said Clavel.
Other Wheaton residents are serviced by the DuPage County Public Works Department, which allows a customer to purchase a separate meter for outside summertime use. This meter is called a deduct or sprinkler meter and ranges in cost from $130 to $275, depending on the size. In addition, the resident must get a plumbing permit to install the meter.
“If a resident is a low-end (water) user, the meter probably isn’t worth the expense of purchasing it and getting the permit,” said Karen Wilson, principal accountant for the DuPage County Public Works Department. “But if you’re using at least 100,000 gallons of water during the summer, you’ll get a faster payback.
“However, we are one of the few places that gives 100 percent credit for what goes through the meter. You just won’t get a deduction unless you have this separate meter.”
Renee Prejean-Motanky, director of program information for the Chicago Water Department, advises you pay attention to how your pool is hooked up.
“Follow basic conservation tips,” she said “such as checking hoses and pumps and even the meter for leaks. Make sure you give your pool a thorough inspection each spring, then check it regularly throughout the summer. You’d be surprised how much water is wasted on even a small leak. Finding those leaks can definitely save you money.”
