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lllinois American Water Company, provider of Champaign-Urbana agua, is currently building a new treatment plant on West Bradley Avenue that will pump out 15 million gallons a day. With a price tag of $51 million, the facility is slated to be up and running by December, and Champaign County residents will be asked to partially foot the bill by paying 60 percent more for their water.
Comments (4)
Saturday, February 16, 2008 12:49 AM
No Sir, I don't like it.
Saturday, February 16, 2008 6:13 PM
Yes, what the hell is this? Let's just charge everyone out the ass for the basic necessities of life such as water and air (kind of like the movie Total Recall, eh?). The end result is that only the rich will be able to breathe and drink. Natural resources should belong to everyone. Power to the people!
Sunday, February 17, 2008 1:08 PM
IAW's expansion is necessary. We all need clean water, and IAW claims that recent development in Champaign County has made the new treatment plant necessary.
Why does growth require higher prices? Rapidly increasing demand in a monopoly-protected market is a business owner's dream. Increased capacity to pump water means more customers paying for water - why can't IAW get a business development loan? If I had the money, I'd definitely lend them a few million at 5-6%. Have they talked to any banks, or are they using the plant as a scapegoat for operational inefficiency?
David R. Albrecht
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 9:54 PM
David's comment about the bank loan is right on. If the Illinois Commerce Commission allows us rate payers to loan IAW a 60% premium on the current rate, then we should demand that the money be returned with interest when the customer base grows. Or alternatively if we give IAW the 60% premium, we should all get stock in return.
Illinois Power was allowed to get away with a similar surcharge for the construction of the Clinton power station. All of us who paid it back than should be issued stock.
-- Mike Feldman