FAQs

General

  • The combined Village and County ordinances impose the following restrictions on open burning of yard waste:

    • Open burning only on Saturdays between dawn and dusk in October and November, then again in April and May
    • Burning of landscape waste is prohibited within 100 feet of a habitable structure or within 50 feet of a structure that is not habitable. (Garage, shed, barn, swimming pool, etc.)
    • All open burning must be supervised by an individual at least 18 years of age until the fire is extinguished.
    • A fire extinguisher or garden hose or water source must be available at the burning site
    • Landscape waste is defined as grass clippings, shrubbery, cuttings, leaves, flowers and weeds. Recreational fires, for warmth or cooking are allowed any day of the year with the following restrictions: The fire shall be no larger than 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet and shall be brush only (no leaves, grass, shrubbery clippings, weeds or furniture). Brush is defined as tree trunks, limbs, branches and twigs.
    • Marengo Disposal Company (MDC) offers yard waste pick up spring through fall on the same day as your garbage collection. Up to three bags/containers are picked up weekly at no charge. In any week, more than three bags/containers require an extra cost yard waste sticker.
    • Each spring and fall residents receive leaf vacuuming services from MDC.

  • It has become a concern for the village as to the use of ATV's, within the village limits, being ridden by residents on private property, as well as public property. The Police Department is asking all parents to discourage the of riding these types of vehicles on private property as it causes a noise nuisance, and riders tend to leave private property, and ride on the streets. There have been reports of these types of vehicles being ridden on public property, parks, and retention ponds. This is strictly prohibited.

  • The Village has contracted with MDC for leaf pick up service. We cannot accurately predict when the leaves will fall but are committed to remove them for all Village residents participating in this program. We are requesting that Village residents rake their LEAVES ONLY to the area between the trough of the ditch and the edge of the road for ease of pick up by MDC. Avoid blocking culvert inlets and releases and do not put leaves on the roadway. Please ensure no rocks, bottles, bricks, branches or other debris are included with the leaves as these items may slow down the pickup process, or even damage the machines. Other options include mulching leaves into your yard, flowerbeds and gardens or composting. Your patience and cooperation with this program is greatly appreciated. WARNING: A citation requiring a mandatory court appearance can be issued for violation of the open burning ordinance & fines of up to $500 per incident can be levied.

  • You can view Minutes and Agenda from the Village's meetings by going to Village Government > Minutes and Agenda

  • You can view Zoning Ordinances by clicking here.

  • Most construction requires a Building Permit. The permits purpose is to have the work inspected to confirm the work meets building, life safety, and fire safety codes. SAFEbuilt provides permitting and inspections to the Village. Contact SAFEbuilt at 847-233-1246 and leave a message or call the Building Department phone at Village Hall 815-728-7725. There is further information on the Building Department page of the Wonder Lake website.

  • All requests for public documents shall be made in writing and directed to a FOIA Officer or other village official and shall be submitted via personal delivery, mail, fax or email. The Village prefers the use of the FOIA Request Form, but will honor all requests lawfully submitted to the Village even if it is not submitted on the attached FOIA Request Form, Any written request submitted to the Village for a public record shall be deemed to be a FOIA request and treated accordingly. Send to: Village of Wonder Lake, 4444 Thompson Rd, Wonder Lake, IL 60097 or Fax: 815-728-1226, or Jo Ellen Mcintosh FOIA Officer at wlvillage@wlvillage.org

    FOIA FEES -The following fees shall apply and shall be payable by the Requester prior to receiving the requested public documents: Copies -Legal or Letter Size: $.15 per page (No charge for first 50 copies), Copies· Color or Oversize: Actual cost of reproduction, Certification: $1.00 per document plus copying costs, Recording Media: Actual cost of media, Mailing: Actual cost of postage.

  • Residents of Wonder Lake can now make their water utility payments online. Online Payment can be made by: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover via the Illinois Treasurer ePay portal.

    You can also use the drive up water bill drop box located at 4444 Thompson Rd. Drop bill in the middle drop box labeled Water Bills.

    To reach the water department directly, call 1-866-371-5699.

  • Leaks must be reported immediately by calling 866-371-5699. Please remember that the water service line from the water main to your building is the responsibility of the owner/renter according to Village Ordinance #350.

  • Garbage Services: MDC manages waste removal in the Village of Wonder Lake. The pick up day is Friday, and all refuse and recyclables should be at the curb by 6AM. If any of the following holidays fall on Friday, pickup will be on Saturday: New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, or any day MDCES is closed. Call 815-568-7274 for service, Seniors are eligible for discounted rates.

  • Please fill out the House Watch form and return to the Wonder Lake Police Department by one of the following methods:  email to wlpd@wlpd.org, fax to (815) 653-1415, or you can drop off or mail to 4444 Thompson Road, Wonder Lake, IL 60097.

  • Please fill out the Water Service Discontinuation - Short Term form and return to Village Hall at 4444 Thompson Road, Wonder Lake, IL.

  • If your roadside mailbox is damaged as a result of snow plowing, the village will replace it only if damaged directly by a village owned and operated snowplow. If the damage was caused by the windrow (wall of flying snow) hurled by a passing plow, the village will not repair or replace it. It should be able to withstand the force, weight, and sweep of snow flung by the passing plow. Replacement of mailboxes damaged as a result of being struck by a village plow will be with a standard unit set on a Weather treated 4X4 wooden post. Please bear in mind, however that since the village crews are often frequently committed to several consecutive days of plowing and salting, downed mailboxes cannot be replaced immediately. In that case you will have to pick up your mail at the post office until your box is back in place.

  • Please call the Village of Wonder Police Department direct at (815) 728-0535. If no one is there to answer your call immediately, please leave your message on Voice Mail. Your message is very important to us and will be answered promptly as soon as an Officer is available. 

  • Jacobsen Park Sports Organization has two organized sports: Soccer is played in both Spring and Fall Seasons. For ages 5 to 14. Younger ages play “in house” while older players play as a team in the Fox Valley Recreational League. Contact Larry Reinhard @ 815-728-0674 for further information. Girls softball offers both in house and league play for ages 7 through 15. Play beings in May and ends in late July. Contact Sarah Janesczko, WL Park Director at wlgirlssoftball.wix.com/wlgs for more information.

Search Tips and Tricks

  • Yes.  The website indexes web pages as well as PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, and text documents.

  • No.  By default, the search results will show matches for any word within the phrase.  In this example, you would receive results for all web pages and documents that contained either the word alarm or the word permit or both.

    In order to search on an exact phrase, enclose your search phrase in quotations.  The search results for "alarm permit" will show matches for that exact phrase.

  • Yes.   You can exclude words by using the minus sign (-).   In order to find the results of all pages that have alarm in the result but not permit, you would search for alarm -permit.

Water Meter

  • Yes. The Village and residents will receive the following benefits:
    • State of the art technology
    • New meters have no moving parts and therefore are not susceptible to mechanical “spinning”
    • Improved customer service through near real-time system monitoring
    • Less intrusion onto private property
    • Reverse water flow warnings
    • Damaged meter alerts
    • High or unusual consumption alerts, prevents water theft or identifies a large leak in the home/yard
    • Meters meet new low-lead requirements
    • Reduced risk of injuries to Village employees and contractors in performing meter reading/maintenance activities
    • Allows for water conservation monitoring

  • Yes. Meter replacement is mandatory for all Village of Wonder Lake water customers. Failure to accommodate a meter replacement within a reasonable period of time may result in account surcharges or termination of service.

  • Yes. Due to freezing temperatures in the winter, most meters are installed within the home or business.

  • All meters are tested and calibrated by Sensus at the factory before shipping. Meters are compliant with the American National Standards Institute and the American Water Works Association standards. All meters come with a 20-year material and accuracy warranty.

    Each radio frequency device has a unique identification number, which is transmitted along with the meter reading. The unique number is compared to your account record to ensure a match. In addition, the meter reading system has a 35-day logging capability for accuracy reconciliation/troubleshooting.

  • A small box, called a Meter Interface Unit (MIU), or transmitter, is installed on the exterior of your house or business near your water meter. It is connected to your new water meter inside your home and transmits a radio signal to a data collector. A mobile or “drive-by” meter reading device is installed in a vehicle. The meter reader drives the vehicle while the reading device automatically collects the meter readings. With mobile meter reading, the reader does not normally have to read the meters in any route order, but just drives the service area until all meters are read. Your collected meter reading is then provided to the Wonder Lake Billing Department for processing. Each meter has a unique identification number that ensures only your reading is assigned to your account. This system reduces the need for manual meter readings, potentially catches leaks sooner and is more accurate than the current meter in your home or business.

  • The Village will use the data from the meter to generate water and sewer bills. The consumption data is also used in aggregate to understand peak usage factors that may affect the volume of water needed in the system at any given time.

  • Installation of the new meters will be conducted at no cost to customers. The AMR system is designed to help control costs by increasing meter reading accuracy and efficiency.

  • Yes. The power and duration of the radio signal is too low to pose a health risk. The products that make up the system are evaluated for safety and are below levels specified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

  • For additional information about the water meter project, call the Village water company at 866-371-5699.

  • If all units in your building are served by a single meter, the contractor will coordinate the meter change-out with either your association and/or your property manager. If your individual residence is served by a single meter, the contractor will be reaching out to you via letter to set up an appointment. If you have an individual meter, you receive a bill directly from the Village of Wonder Lake.

  • The contractor will temporarily freeze your water line and install a new shut-off valve. You will be charged $100.00 for the replacement.

  • If your meter is inaccessible, the installer will leave you instructions on how to make modifications so the change-out can occur and provide information on how to set up another appointment.

  • The Village has contracted with United Meters, Inc. to install your new water meter. More information will be mailed to you directly via letter on how to schedule an appointment when the project moves to your area of the Village.

    United Meters, Inc. personnel will need access to meters in basements, utility rooms, behind locked fences, garages, etc. An adult (minimum of 18 years old) must be present while they work inside the premises. Please make sure that there are no obstructions around your meter that may hamper access to the meter.

    Under normal circumstances, the installation will take approximately 30 minutes. Momentary water service interruptions will occur to change out the meter. United Meters, Inc. employees are required to provide proper identification when installing your meters.

  • When will the water meter replacements begin, and how long will they take?

  • Water meters are typically located in basements, crawl spaces or utility closets that include your furnace or water heater.

  • The Village has contracted with United Meters, Inc. of Morris, Ill. to install the water meters in town. More information will be mailed to you directly via letter on how to schedule an appointment when the project moves into your area of the Village. For more information on United Meters, Inc., please visit www.unitedmeters.com.

  • The Village of Wonder Lake was mandated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to bill customers based on consumption rates. To comply with this mandate, the Village has contracted with United Meters, Inc. of Morris, Ill. to install the water meters in town.

    When the Village purchased the existing water systems it was determined that the existing meters were old and worn and not dependable of providing accurate usage data. The Village of Wonder Lake will replace about 1,700 existing water meters in town with Sensus iPERL water meters. These new iPERL meters will allow the Village to install a mobile Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system that will provide better customer service and greater access to data.

    These new meters will automatically transmit readings wirelessly, meaning the Village can be more efficient and reduce water system costs by preventing manual device recording errors and eliminating time-consuming manual meter reading altogether.

  • The Village selected the iPERL due to its strong performance record, greater access to data, overall service, as well as the experience of the manufacturer, cost savings it provides to the Village, and its 20-year warranty, which is much greater than the meters they will replace.

    Sensus iPERL water meters are already installed in Wonder Lake homes and have been for more than two years. The Village has seen no major issues in the operation of the Sensus iPERL meters since their introduction. In fact, more than 3 million iPERL meters have been in service since 2010 in other municipalities in the Chicago area and across the country.

  • No. The Village has been issuing new meters for the past 10 years using Sensus models for most residential applications. If you already have one of these model meters the meter will not be replaced. However, a new radio device will be installed over the existing touch pad on the outside of the house as part of the AMR metering enhancements. The technicians installing the radio equipment may not require access inside the home.

  • Will my water bill increase? While there are other matters that may impact the Village’s utility rates, such as the annual water rate increases, the new meters alone will not result in a rate increase. You will be billed for the actual water used, so your bill could increase if you use more than the typical amount (8,000 gallons per month) used by a single-family home. The new metering system ensures fairness and equality for all customers by measuring and billing residents and businesses accurately.

  • Yes. Only meter consumption data and meter numbers are transmitted. Personal customer information is not loaded into the transmitter and therefore will not be transmitted.

  • No. The radio transmission operates in compliance with FCC regulations to avoid interference with other electronic devices. The transmitter is located outside of your home or business to reduce radio frequencies inside the structure and provide the best signal to the radio tower.

  • No. The Sensus iPERL water meter is not equipped with that functionality. If you experience a loss of water pressure after the meter has been installed, call the Village water company at 866-371-5699.

  • No. The Village does not actively monitor water consumption by individual users. The system is designed to provide the Village an alert if your meter registers extraordinary consumption, allowing us to notify the customer of a possible meter or system problem.