Stu Summers and the organizers of “It’s the Same Water Coalition” are continuing a campaign for the Valparaiso Lakes Area Conservancy District (VLACD) Board to lower water rates while still collecting names for a “Plan B” petition to present to Mayor Jon Costas and the Valparaiso City Council, asking the city to take over water operations in their neighborhoods.
Conservancy district board members, though, said the pushback started with the first rate increase in more than a decade, one that was kept at a minimum to lessen the burden on residents, and any neighborhood that wants city water will have to be annexed and face higher property taxes as a result.
“This all started on Jan. 1 when our water rates were raised for this group of approximately 1,200 residents from the communities of Blackhawk, Burlington Beach, Edgewater, Hillcrest, Walden, Wild Rose and Woodmere in Valparaiso,” Summers said.
“This got our attention and even more so when it happened again in July, along with an ordinance passed stating there will likely be several more increases in rates in the years to come. At this same July meeting, and then again at the August meeting, we addressed the Valparaiso Lakes Area Conservancy District (VLACD) Board, urging the water officials to discuss a plan to lower rates by allowing the city of Valparaiso to provide water services.”
Summers and others created their coalition and hired an outside media firm paid to assist with news releases and social media posts to spread the message of their concerns.
On Sept. 23, the VLACD launched a response to residents’ questions and grievances shared at the board’s Sept. 17 meeting, with answers posted to the VLACD homepage at vlacd.org.
Coalition members who asked why they couldn’t pay Valparaiso for water, since it was the same water, received the following response from the conservancy district: “On Oct. 20, 1976, VLACD signed an agreement to buy water from the City of Valparaiso Utilities. Within the agreement VLACD is solely responsible for any costs, repairs, and maintenance of the water lines within VLACD territory.”
Another option posed by residents was to turn water and sewer operations over to the Valparaiso City Utilities.
The conservancy district responded that VLACD would have to sell to Valparaiso City Utilities after a circuit court judge concluded that the district no longer served its intended purpose.
Additionally, the district said that the claim “of a savings of $250 per year for residents if bought by Valparaiso City Utilities is false.”
Purchasing VLACD’s water and sewer operations could cost in the millions of dollars, the district said. The purchase price, along with the added responsibility of repairs, maintenance and costs of operations, could result in higher utility bills for customers.
At the Sept. 17 board meeting, Summers and his group said VLACD has the second-highest water rates in the state of Indiana, which the board has responded is a false claim since Chesterton, Gary, Hobart, Merrillville, Portage, Porter, South Haven and Lowell all have higher water rates than VLACD.
The VLACD Board said the Nature Works Conservancy District and Damon Run Conservancy District, both of which were recently acquired by the city of Valparaiso, have higher rates than VLACD.
On Friday afternoon, Christian Anderson, chair of the VLACD, provided the Post-Tribune with a statement further rebutting the residents’ concerns.
Concerned residents angry about rising water rates addressed the Valparaiso Lakes Area Conservancy District Board at the Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, board meeting. (Philip Potempa/for Post-Tribune)
“This civil unrest amongst this coalition is due to this recent first rate increase we have had in 11 years,” Anderson said.
“The rates were increased as low as possible to reduce the burden on residents and still be able to serve the residents. Without the increase, we would be in the same situation as the defunct water and sewer department that VLACD purchased on Oct. 20, 1976.
“For example, the minimum bill for water on our most common size meter was raised just over $7. This is the first increase on water in over 11 years. There have been numerous cost increases from the Valparaiso City Utilities to VLACD, and we had not raised rates since 2014.”
Anderson continues: “The coalition claims that VLACD receives $300,000 in property taxes collected from the district. This tax levy collected by VLACD funds stormwater projects (Kettle Lake, Listenburg Ditch, Sediment Pond on Burlington Beach Road, Blackhawk Beach Stormwater drain, etc.). It is not meant to solely fund the water and sewer department. However, it can be used for emergency water or sewer issues.
“Therefore, claiming that VLACD should drain that account before asking for new taxes is not in the best interest of VLACD residents. There is a certain amount of reserves necessary for an emergency. Valparaiso City Utilities has not approached the VLACD Board with interest to acquire the water and sewer department or the district,” Anderson said in the statement.
Regardless of what the coalition’s motives are, “for all this disruption and disrespect to a conservancy district that has been here with good efforts and results for 50 years is unknown,” Anderson said. “The right question for everyone to ask now, perhaps, is why?”
The coalition group said their next step will be to gather more names for the petition to provide evidence that 20% of residents in the area are in favor of change and present the petition directly to the administration for the city of Valparaiso, “to encourage the start of dialogue.”
Walter Breitinger, a board member of the Valparaiso Lakes Area Conservancy District board, spoke to concerned residents at the Sept. 17, 2025, board meeting. (Philip Potempa/for Post-Tribune)
VLACD Board member Walter Breitinger has warned residents, as he explained in his public assessment at the Sept. 17 meeting, any neighborhoods seeking city of Valparaiso water services would have to be annexed by the city.
“What I see as the biggest problem of all is if there was some movement toward switching our utilities to the city of Valparaiso, is that we’d need to be annexed, and I believe that a lot of these homes would then be paying way more in taxes. Therefore, any savings, if there were any, would be eaten up in additional taxes,” said Breitinger, who has served on the board for three years and says he has attended meetings since the 1980s as an invested citizen.
The VLACD will hold an executive session meeting closed to the public at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
