Water

Water Accounts

If you wish to establish a new water account or if have billing questions, contact the Revenue Collection Department at 847-360-0535 or email, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Download, print, and complete the application, then email water@waukeganil.gov. A $100.00 deposit is required for tenant accounts. Please click here, to make your tenant deposit. Please note any balances on the current water account at the property, must be paid in full in order to transfer the water into the owner or tenant's name. 

If you are buying or selling a property, review the requirements here. 

Water Billing

Water billing is done on a monthly basis and bills can be paid by mail, online, or at City Hall. New for 2018 and beyond, they may be paid by phone at 888-470-0220.

If you wish to sign-up for automatic bill pay, complete and return Automatic Water Bill Pay Form (PDF) to City of Waukegan, Revenue Collection, 100 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Waukegan, IL 60085. You can sign up for Auto Pay using your debit/credit card on your Online Water Account . Fees will apply. 

How to Read Your Water Bill

1) Current Meter Information – This section contains the account service billing dates. The service billing dates are the date of the last meter reading to the date of the current meter reading for the billing period and the number of days billed. The consumption calculation is the current read less the previous read.   

2) Your Billed Consumption– This bar graph shows monthly consumption for the account. If the graph is blank for a month where service was provided, the meter was not read that month. For example, if the meter was read on 1/31/2023 and on 03/01/2023, no bar graph appears for February. 

3) Account Information – This section contains basic contact information and general billing information. 

4) Account Activity – This section shows Previous Balance, the Payments made since the last bill, late fees, adjustments, and refunds (if applicable). 

5) New Charges – This section is the billing breakdown. Waukegan has a minimum billing amount of $16.44, meaning for a consumption from 0 to 2,000 gallons, the bill amount will be $16.44. A “Min Charge Adj” will be applied to bring the bill total to $16.44.

6) Account Balance – This section is the Current Charges of the current billing period with Total Amount Due by Due Date and amount due if the bill is paid late. 

Where Our Water Comes From

The city pumps its water supply from Lake Michigan through some 230 miles of mains. The city’s Lake Michigan intakes have a daily capacity of 52 million gallons. During the past several years the city’s 230 miles of mains have carried 3.5 billion gallons of water throughout the city and to neighboring communities.

Capacities

The present filtering capacity at the treatment plant is 18 million gallons daily, with a short period run capacity of 24 million gallons daily. Waukegan has the capacity to supply water to the developing parts of Lake County in the future.

Questions

If you have questions regarding the water system, including water quality and pressure, contact the Water Meter Department at 847-360-0966, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sanitation

The entire developed portion of the city is served by separate storm and sanitary sewers. While the city is responsible for sewerage collection, treatment is the responsibility of the North Shore Sanitary District.

The sanitary district is responsible for sewage collected by the city and major portions of Lake County covering an 80 square mile service area. The sanitary district can be contacted at 847-623-6060.