New Du Quoin water rates go into effect Aug. 1

Water and sewer rates in Du Quoin will rise 2.45% on Aug. 1, now that the Du Quoin City Council has passed the new rate ordinance.

The rise in rates, approved Monday, July 27, is in line with the new water rates being passed along by the Rend Lake Water District, which supplies Du Quoin with fresh water.

Most years, the new rates go into effect June 1, but Rend Lake alerted its customers that due to the pandemic, they were pushing back the increase to Aug. 1.

Rend Lake has calculated water rate increases for three years. If they are implemented as expected, on June 1, 2021 the rate will rise another 2.39% and on June 1, 2022 it will go up another 2.34%. The Du Quoin council would be expected to raise rates correspondingly to residents and businesses in 2021 and 2022.

The new rates in Du Quoin are:

$6.71 per 1,000 gallons (for residents)

$8.95 per 1,000 gallons (for customers outside the city limits).

The current rates are:

$6.55 per 1,000 gallons (for residents)

$8.73 per 1,000 gallons (for customers outside the city limits).

As well, the new service charges on every bill will be $13.65 for Du Quoin customers and $14.97 for out of town customers. That compares to current rates of $13.32 and $14.60, comparatively.