Posted: Feb. 2, 2010

As of Monday, Elm Grove had received 270 responses from property owners queried about their interest in hooking up to and paying a special assessment for municipal water if it is brought to the village, Village Manager Dave De Angelis said.

Of the residential equivalent units represented by those letters, 67 were positive commitments to hook up to the system, 135 negative.

There are 875 REUs in all.

Property owners along the proposed water route were sent commitment letters, which they are to return by March 1 to indicate if they are or are not interested in hooking up right away. Property owners’ responses will carry varying weights in the final decision whether to proceed with the project. The village has figured out how many residential equivalent units each property makes up — single-family homes are one REU, condominium owners are considered in a block with others in their complex, and commercial properties can be multiple REUs, depending on the amount of water they are estimated to use annually — and if more than half the REUs agree to pay into the system, the Village Board likely will move forward with municipal water. In essence, a property considered two REUs has two "votes" about how the board should proceed.

The municipal water project would bring water from the city of Brookfield and create a service area around the downtown.