Water wars

Water wars
Flickr/Joe Shlabotnik
Water wars
Flickr/Joe Shlabotnik

Water wars

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Two Chicago suburbs are battling over water. The village of Niles has filed a lawsuit in Cook County Chancery Court against the village of Glenview seeking about two months’ worth of water bills totaling $698,000.

Niles Village Manager George Van Geem says his town wants Glenview to adhere to a 21-year agreement in which Niles agreed to provide water that it bought from the city of Chicago to the North Suburban Public Utility Co., now controlled by Glenview. Niles spent millions to build and upgrade its water distribution system.

Glenview spokespersons tell the Chicago Tribune the village withheld payments based on information that suggested Niles has been “overcharging Glenview” by including sewer rates in its water bills.