Board to Talk Compensation for Rusty Water

Karol Armbruster of Boulder Hill knows exactly how much money she believes the village of Montgomery owes her.

Speaking to the Village Board earlier this month, Armbruster laid out her case. After nine years on Old Post Road without a water problem, her home was one of those affected by rust issues over the past few months. And though she says the problem has cleared up, she’s seeking a credit on her village water bill.

Specifically, she said, she wants compensation for 42 days of rusty water, from Dec. 9 to Jan. 20, which comes out to $54.39.

“My bill is due at the end of the month,” she said. “I’m just looking for a solution.”

Tonight, village trustees are slated to discuss just what, if any, compensation to give Armbruster and others like her, who dealt with rusty water for months due to the failure of one of the village’s wells. Well 14, on the west side, broke down on Nov. 19, and the village immediately started pumping water to Boulder Hill from other wells.

But the change in water direction shook loose rust deposits that had built up over time in the cast-iron pipes beneath Boulder Hill, according to Public Works Director Mike Pubentz. Residents in Boulder Hill—an unincorporated area south of Montgomery, which gets water from the village—started seeing (and smelling) that rust coming out of their sinks, showers and toilets.

Armbruster said she bought bottled water to drink and cook with, and replaced her shower head and filters. And still, she said, the rust stains on her shower are so thick that she can’t get them out. She’s not the only one—Armbruster was one of eight residents who complained to the board in January, and Pubentz said he received at least 70 calls.

The affected area, he said, ranges from Boulder Hill Pass to the north and west, and Circle Drive West to the south and west. In late December, village staff sent out 700 letters to homes that may have been impacted.

All of which makes the question of compensation a tricky one, and one that is completely in the hands of the Village Board. The board authorized spending an additional $7,600 to fix Well 14 by Jan. 20, and several Boulder Hill residents said their water quality has returned to normal.

But compensating residents on their water bills is another matter entirely. Village staff conducted a poll of eight neighboring communities (Cortland, Elburn, North Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield, Plano, Sugar Grove and Yorkville) and found that none of them have given out mass compensation for water quality issues. 

Oswego once gave a $3 credit to one resident, Plano does compensate for residents who perform their own water quality tests, and Sugar Grove compensates for the cost of those tests, but not for water quality issues themselves.

Trustee Pete Heinz asked that the issue be placed on the agenda for tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting. Heinz did not return calls for comment, but several of his fellow board members did.

Trustee Andy Kaczmarek said residents should get some form of monetary compensation—perhaps 20 percent off their water bill—and the board can use the impacted area provided by staff as a guideline.

Trustee Stan Bond said the problem is a complex one. He said there should be some form of verification process for residents claiming this compensation—a formal application process, and perhaps an affidavit. He said the village did meet its legal obligation to provide potable water, since it was never unsafe to drink.

But he admitted he hadn’t settled on a solution to the problem, and would be interested to hear other ideas.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 200 N. River Street, and is free and open to the public.