Utilities

Water and Sewer

ESTABLISHING OR TERMINATING SERVICE

You may establish water and sewer service for property located within the City of Galena at City Hall or by contacting the Utility Department at 815-777-1050. The Application for Service form may be printed and delivered, mailed or faxed to the City of Galena at the following address or phone number:

City of Galena
City Hall
312 1/2 N. Main Street
Galena, IL 61036
Fax: 815-777-3083

Water and sewer service may be terminated by completing the Termination of Service form and printed, mailed or faxed to City Hall at the above address or phone number.

WATER AND SEWER RATES

The following rates are billed on a monthly basis.

BILLING AND PAYMENT

Water and sewer customers are billed by mail each month. Bills are mailed the last business day of each month with payments due by the 15th. Payments not received prior to 12:00 (noon) on the 15th are subject to penalties.

The following payment options are available.

• Cash or Check – Payments can be mailed, dropped off at City Hall or deposited in our drop box located at the Main Street entrance to City Hall.
• Credit Cards – Payment may be made in person or by phoning City Hall with your credit card information.
• Automatic Debit from Checking or Savings Account—An Automatic Debit Payment application must be filed at City Hall for this option.
• Automatic Credit Card Payment—An Automatic Credit Card Payment application must be filed at City Hall for this option.

Mailed payments and application forms should be addressed to:

City of Galena
City Hall c/o Utility Dept.
312 1/2 N. Main Street
Galena, IL 61036

CALCULATING WATER USE

The City of Galena visits your property and records usage on your water meter every other month. When meters are not read in person, usage for the month is estimated. Estimates are based on the average of your previous two month usage. Your bill will reflect a “0” under previous read on the months you are estimated. Your estimated usage is deducted from the actual usage on your next billing and you are only billed for the difference.

HOW IS MY METER READ?

Your meter is read once a month by a City of Galena employee using a handheld electronic reader. A touchpad connected to your indoor water meter has been installed on the outside of your house. When the handheld electronic reader touches the touchpad your water usage downloads into the handheld reader. The handheld reader measures use in even thousand gallon increments. Therefore, if your inside meter reads 58,895 gallons, the handheld reading from the outside will be 58,000. The additional 895 gallons will be billed once your water consumption reaches the next thousand gallons or, in this example, 59,000 gallons. Estimating is only used in exceptional circumstances.

WHEN IS MY METER READ?

The city has been divided into five routes for the purpose of reading meters. Each route is read at approximately the same time each month. Please feel free to contact City Hall if you would like to know on what date your meter will be read. We appreciate your help in keeping a clear path to your touchpad and keeping the touchpad clearly visible.

TROUBLESHOOTING HIGH WATER USE

If you feel your water consumption or bill seems high given your historical use, please locate your inside meter and write down the actual reading from the meter before calling City Hall. This will help us determine what your actual usage has been since the last time we took an actual reading from your touchpad.

Your meter has a leak indicator which will tell you if water is going through your meter. When you know there is no water being used, please check this indicator (small read dial) to make sure it is not moving. If the indicator is moving, water is going through your meter somewhere on the property. It is the responsibility of the property owner or tenant to determine where the water is being used. Some of the more common problems are:

• A leaking toilet. (Simple test: Place food coloring in the tank and let sit for 10 minutes. If color comes into the bowl your toilet is leaking.)
• A leaking hot water heater.
• A faulty water softener.
• A hose that has been left on.
• An outside hose bib that is leaking.
• An undetected broken pipe in a crawl space.

Please remember that because the actual consumption reading we take is measured in even thousand gallon increments, and is to the thousand below what you have actually used, there may be occasional months when you use and are billed for an additional 1,000 gallons.

QUESTIONS?

You can call Deb Price or Mary Beth Hyde at 815-777-1050 or email either of them at dprice@cityofgalena.org or mbhyde@cityofgalena.org, respectively.

Trash and Recycling

The City of Galena contracts with Montgomery Trucking for residential refuse and recycling collection.

Establishing Service
Refuse Guidelines
Refuse Collection Schedule
Refuse and Recycling Rates
Recyclable Items

EstablisHing Service

Residential trash removal service is typically established during application for water and sewer service. Residential customers may establish trash removal, water and sewer service by submitting the Application for Service form or by contacting the City of Galena at 815-777-1050.

Commercial customers may establish garbage removal service by contacting:

Montgomery Trucking
929 Fulton
Galena, IL 61036
815-777-0672

REFUSE GUIDELINES

Trash must be placed near the street for collection not earlier than the day before scheduled collection.

Empty containers must be removed the day of collection.

Containers must be maintained in good order and repair, be rodent-proof with a tight cover, and not more than 40 gallons capacity. Containers should be sufficiently strong to prevent spillage and wind-carry.

Not more than one (1) container per household may be set out for collection each week. Special tags are available if you have more than one container of residential trash for collection. Tags may be purchased at Dick’s Piggly Wiggly Supermarket, City Hall, or by calling Montgomery Trucking at 777-0672.  Each tag costs $1.25 and allows the resident to set out one extra container, not exceeding 40 gallons, for collection.  Multiple tags for multiple extra containers may be used at the same time.

Oversized items such as appliances and furniture are not permitted for normal collection.  Arrangements may be made directly with Montgomery Trucking at 777-0672 for collection of oversized items.

Tires, hazardous liquids and landscape materials are banned from landfills and cannot be mixed and collected with normal trash. Residents may purchase special yard waste tags, at the locations listed above, for the collection of grass clippings and leaves. Yard waste must be set out in plastic or paper bags.  The tag costs $1.25 per bag.  The City makes available a site for depositing trees and branches downed in storms. Please call City Hall at 815-777-1050 for more information. Contact the Jo-Carroll Solid Waste Agency at 815-244-9444 for information about periodic special collections of household hazardous wastes, including electronics.

REFUSE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION SCHEDULES

Curbside trash collection occurs on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday dependent on your location. Contact City Hall to determine your pickup day.

Recyclable items are collected every other week. The recycling collection schedule is the same community-wide and can be viewed on the Recycling Calendar. Instructions about how to recycle are found in the Curbside Recycling Guide.

There is no collection on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. When collection falls on one of these holidays, collections are delayed by one day for the remainder of the week.

REFUSE AND RECYCLING RATES

The monthly fee for garbage and recycling is $9.98. You will find this figure on your monthly utility bill across from the “GB” abbreviation. Of the $9.98 total cost, $7.48 is charged for trash collection and $2.50 is charged for recycling collection. Effective May 1, 2010, the total charge for garbage and recycling will increase to $11.55.

RECYCLABLE ITEMS

Recycling is easy. It’s starting that’s hard. Once you start, it becomes an automatic (and good) habit. All recyclables may be placed in one or more containers clearly marked "recycling". Recyclables do not have to be sorted by type (paper, glass, plastic, cardboard, etc. may be mixed in the same container). There is no limit to the amount of recyclables that may be set out for collection. Recyclable items are collected every other week. This one page, printable Curbside Recycling Guide explains how to do it and what items are recyclable. Please take responsibility for reducing the stream of waste from your residence to the landfill by diligently recycling all eligible items.

The City of Galena offers a Christmas Tree Recycling Program. Live Christmas trees (no artificial trees) can be dropped off at collection sites throughout the City. Trees must be free of all decorating materials. Wreaths and roping that do not contain wire may also be recycled. For more information please call City Hall at 815-777-1050.

Questions/Comments

We are interested in your questions or comments about City of Galena services. Please email your questions or comments to info@cityofgalena.org and a member of our staff will respond to you by email or phone as quickly as possible.