Running a rural water system covers a lot of ground — literally. With 3,257 miles of waterline stretching across rural Illinois and an average of just four customers per mile, our crews spend a lot of time on the road keeping water flowing to homes, farms, and businesses.
That’s why one number from this past year stands out to us: we drove 61,408 fewer miles than the year before. Here’s what that means, and why it matters to you.
The challenge: costs keep climbing
You’ve felt it at home and in your own business. The cost of just about everything — fuel, materials, equipment, energy — keeps rising year after year. For a water system spread across a wide, rural service area, those costs add up fast. Every mile driven is fuel burned, maintenance owed, and time spent.
We can’t control the price of diesel or the cost of a new truck. But we can control how smartly we operate. So that’s where we focused.
The result: 61,408 fewer miles
This past year, our total fleet mileage dropped by 61,408 miles — a 10.23% reduction from the year before, down to 538,818 miles total.
Put another way, that’s about 1,428 fewer hours on the road. Fewer hours means less fuel, less wear and tear on our vehicles, and lower maintenance costs — all without cutting back on the service our members count on.
That last part is the key. We didn’t get there by responding to fewer calls or letting things slide. We got there by planning routes smarter, scheduling work more efficiently, and constantly asking how we can do the same job with less waste. Same reliability. Same responsiveness. Fewer miles.
Small changes, real savings
Cutting mileage is one example of a bigger habit at EJ Water: looking for the everyday adjustments that, added together, make a real difference.
Take billing, for instance. Mailing paper statements costs the cooperative about $11,000 every month. We noticed many members were getting both a paper bill and an electronic one at the same time. By encouraging electronic billing, we cut unnecessary costs, reduce paper waste, and get bills to members faster.
None of these moves is dramatic on its own. But when you stack smarter routing on top of leaner billing on top of dozens of other small efficiencies, you get a system that manages rising costs while still investing in the infrastructure that keeps your water safe and reliable.
Why this matters for you
Every dollar we don’t spend on an unnecessary mile or an avoidable expense is a dollar that stays in the system — helping us keep rates as affordable as possible while we continue investing in treatment plants, storage, and reliability.
As a member-owned cooperative, that’s the balance we’re always working to strike: run lean, invest wisely, and never cut corners on the water itself. Efficiency isn’t about doing less for you. It’s about making sure more of what you pay goes toward what actually matters — safe, reliable water at an affordable price.
Our team will keep looking for smarter ways to operate. It’s one more way we’re working to strengthen the cooperative today while securing it for tomorrow.
Questions about how EJ Water operates or invests in the system? Reach us anytime at ejwater@ejwater.com or 217-925-5566.
