Every home in Manhattan carries a cost that never shows up on the listing sheet, and the village has already written its next three increases into law. The code sets two kinds of increases. One adjusts rates automatically every May. The other adds fixed step increases each January starting in 2027. Both stack on top of the rates posted today.
The village says plainly what the money is for: a new water tower, the Well 7 treatment facility, and an expanded wastewater treatment plant. That plant now carries a $45.3 million estimate, and in July 2026 the village board said construction would wait until more residential growth arrives. If you're comparing Manhattan with its Lincoln-Way neighbors, the monthly utility bill is one of the few carrying costs you can see coming years ahead.
The Increases Are Already in the Code
The village's utility rates page currently lists water at $8.71 per 1,000 gallons and sewer at $6.25 per 1,000 gallons. It also lists a $15.30 monthly Capital Improvement Charge, which the village says pays for major maintenance and improvements to its water and sewer facilities. Refuse adds $31.66 a month.
Those posted figures sit a few percent above the numbers printed in the municipal code's rate section. That gap matches the code's automatic annual increase. Each May, rates rise by whichever is smaller: 5%, or the Chicago-area consumer price index plus 1.5%. If the index ever falls, the increase is 1.5%.
The second layer is new. Starting January 1, 2027, and for the two years after that, the code adds:
- $6.67 per year to the monthly capital improvement charge
- $0.61 per year to water, per 1,000 gallons
- $1.31 per year to sewer, per 1,000 gallons
In an October 2025 report, Southwest Regional Publishing described the board's vote as a staged increase over four years to help pay for water infrastructure, and noted that some steps could be deferred if the village landed grants.
The table below applies only the January steps to today's posted rates. It uses a 6,000-gallon month, which matches the "normal" household usage described at a 2026 board meeting. The May adjustments would push every figure higher, so read each column as a minimum.
| Charge | Posted today | Jan. 2027 | Jan. 2028 | Jan. 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water, per 1,000 gal. | $8.71 | $9.32 | $9.93 | $10.54 |
| Sewer, per 1,000 gal. | $6.25 | $7.56 | $8.87 | $10.18 |
| Capital charge, monthly | $15.30 | $21.97 | $28.64 | $35.31 |
| 6,000-gallon month, before refuse | $105.06 | $123.25 | $141.44 | $159.63 |
By early 2029, that ordinary month costs at least about $55 more than it does today, before any May adjustment between now and then.
Priced on the Households Already Here
The schedule traces back to a finance workshop on September 9, 2025. Mayor Adrieansen opened by saying water and sewer rates and certain village fees needed to rise to repay bonds for the new water tower, the wastewater treatment plant, and the existing well treatment facility. Staff listed the projects: the Well 7 water treatment and radium removal facility at $9.7 million, already underway; a Well 7 water tower estimated at $6 million; and the treatment plant expansion, estimated that night at $42.6 million. A fee study comparing Manhattan with eight local communities found that most village fees needed to rise 25% to 50%.
One exchange from that meeting explains the whole structure. Trustee Young asked whether the proposed rates were based on current residents or on expected growth. Finance staff answered that they were based on current residents and current usage.
Strand Associates, the village's engineer, gave reasons that go beyond growth. The plant was last improved in 2005, and its mechanical equipment is nearing the end of its working life. The expansion would relieve backups and overflows in the sanitary sewer system. It would also help the village meet a tighter Illinois EPA phosphorus limit, which drops from 1.0 to 0.5 mg/l. Strand also pointed to the comprehensive plan's projection of 20,000 residents by 2050. Some of the plant's cost would come due even if no new homes were built. The part sized for growth is the part being paid for in advance.
The Plant That Waits for New Homes
In September 2025, Strand presented a schedule with construction starting in November 2026 and final completion in January 2030. By July 21, 2026, the board was describing something more conditional. The Illinois EPA had approved Phase I, which doubles design capacity from 1.35 to 2.7 million gallons per day. That would cover projected needs for 20 years and push back more than $12.8 million in Phase II costs. Design and permitting were finished. The July minutes then say the village "has postponed construction until additional residential growth occurs," along with hiring two more full-time plant operators.
At the same meeting, the board approved applying for an Illinois EPA State Revolving Fund loan, a low-interest state loan program for water projects. Applying improves the project's funding priority but doesn't commit the village to build or to accept the loan. The board also approved a peer review by Robinson Engineering, capped at $28,350, to look for savings. It approved a $3.285 million agreement with Strand for construction-related services over a 42-month build, and noted that loan repayment would not begin before 2029.
So the timing works like this. The rate schedule began in January 2026 and runs through January 2029. The plant it helps pay for has a finished design and a pending loan application, and its start date depends on growth.
Where the New Homes Are Coming From
The approvals since late 2025 have been steady but small. In October 2025, the board approved annexation, rezoning, and a 41-lot plat for Butternut Ridge South, on the west side of Cedar Road just south of Butternut Ridge. Skyline Real Estate Development LLC was the applicant. Putman Builders says it has secured lots there for custom single-family homes.
On September 1, 2026, the board approved the final plat for Oak Ridge Subdivision Phase Two. Prairie Trails Development, LLC is splitting a 12.76-acre parcel south of Ranch Oaks into 16 lots off Arabian Avenue, each meeting the village's 10,000-square-foot minimum. Back in October 2025, staff reported that 34 single-family lots next to Villas of Prairie Trails were under contract with a local builder who was still doing due diligence. As of September 2026, the developer at Ivanhoe was finishing landscaping and punch-list work, and work on Route 52 turn lanes into the subdivision had begun.
The village is also laying pipe ahead of future development. Spiess Construction holds a $547,449 contract to run a water main and sewer extension toward Route 52 and Gougar Road. A $300,000 state grant covers part of the cost, and the village plans to recover the rest through connection charges as new development hooks in. The village is protecting future housing land as well. In September 2026, it formally objected to a proposed 51-acre solar farm at Baker Road and Eastern Avenue, because its land-use plan marks that site for future residential use.
What a New-Construction Buyer Pays to Connect
New homes pay for the system in a lump sum. Since January 1, 2020, each new single-family home in Manhattan owes $5,500 in water connection fees and $9,000 in sewer connection fees, due when the occupancy permit is issued. When you compare a new build with a resale, ask your builder whether that $14,500 is already in the contract price or listed as a separate line item.
Butternut Ridge South comes with one more detail. The village's July 2026 official actions show that the board voted to propose Dormant Special Service Area 2026-01 for the subdivision and set a public hearing. A special service area is a defined district where the village can levy an extra property tax. This one would carry a $0 levy unless the homeowners association fails to maintain its detention basins, common areas, or other property the village doesn't own. The records reviewed don't confirm final adoption, so buyers in that subdivision should ask for its status before closing.
Summer Is When the Formula Costs the Most
Manhattan's code bases user charges on what the water meter reads. That matters most for homes with big lawns, pools, or acreage. At the September 1, 2026 board meeting, a Manhattan resident described a $651 monthly bill. The resident said their household normally uses about 6,000 gallons, but summer usage had reached 35,000 to 39,000 gallons, mostly for the yard. The resident said the board had removed a 10,000-gallon cap on summer sewer billing for June, July, and August, and asked the board to restore the cap or allow deduct meters, which are separate meters that keep outdoor water off the sewer bill. The minutes don't record a board response, and the research found no Manhattan policy allowing deduct meters.
Two neighboring villages handle this differently. New Lenox allows deduct meters for water that doesn't go into the sanitary sewer, installed at the owner's expense and inspected before sewer credits begin. Mokena also allows them for irrigation and other outdoor water. Frankfort's rates, effective May 1, 2026, are $5.60 per 1,000 gallons for water and $11.33 for sewer, with a monthly minimum based on 2,000 gallons. At 6,000 gallons, that comes to about $101.58 in Frankfort versus $105.06 in Manhattan today. The two bills start close together. Manhattan's code already schedules its increases through 2029.
FAQ
Can Manhattan's scheduled increases be reduced? That October 2025 report also said some increases could be deferred if the village secured grants. Until that happens, the code's schedule applies.
Has construction started on the wastewater plant expansion? As of the July 21, 2026 minutes, no. Design and permitting were complete, and construction was postponed until more residential growth occurs and staffing is in place.
Do resale buyers pay connection fees? The code ties the $14,500 water and sewer connection fees to the occupancy permit for a new single-family home, so the fee applies when a home is first built.
Utility bills, connection fees, and special service areas all change what a home really costs to own, and they rarely come up until late in a deal. Before you write an offer in Manhattan, ask for the seller's past summer and winter utility bills, and ask your builder how connection fees and HOA obligations appear in the contract. The Randi Lynn Group builds those numbers into every Manhattan comparison we prepare, and if you're selling, we'll start with a free home valuation that accounts for them.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
