Over the last three years, the city of Elgin has replaced 2,500 lead water service lines going into residents’ homes at a cost of more than $30 million.
As the program heads into its fourth year in June, the city’s goal is to tackle another 1,000 houses, the price of switching out lead lines for copper about $16.5 million, according to Elgin Water Director Nora Bertram.
“We’ve done a lot of work to get here. We are continuing full steam ahead,” Bertram said.
Full steam ahead until the approximate 10,000 houses believed to have lead lines are addressed and the potential problem of lead leaching into the water eradicated. If they stay on course, the project could be finished by 2027, Bertram said.
Houses built before the mid-1980s routinely used lead pipes, or service lines, in construction. The lines tap into the city’s main water pipeline in the street and route water into homes. Typically there’s little fear of lead contaminiation because of calcification, the process through which minerals in the water build up inside the pipes and form a layer over the lead, experts say.
The problem comes when pipes are jarred through underground construction or other actions, which can result in lead particles being released into the water, causing serious health problems for people — especially children — who consume it.
Officials stress the city’s water supply does not contain lead, and only those houses with lead services lines have the potential for lead to be present.
For that reason, the city has been providing free water filters to property owners with lead lines who request them. (Using the water for other purposes, such as bathing, does not pose a risk because lead cannot be absorbed through the skin.)
The existence of residential lead service lines is not one that’s limited to just the city of Elgin or even the state of Illinois. Federal and state mandates are requiring all lead service lines throughout the country be replaced by 2037.
In Elgin, the city’s been footing the replacement bill — estmated at $10,000 to $11,000 per home — with the help of state and federal grants and loans, including the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and money provided through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The city has also sold bonds to help cover the costs and raised the city’s water and sewer rates to generate more revenue for the work and for other water and sewer projects.
Bertram said the water department is always looking for grant and loan opportunities to help offset the cost, but it can be tough to secure with so many municipalities vying for the money that’s available.
“It’s definitely becoming more competitive as more communities start implementing their programs,” she said. “We still have been able to get the funding we’ve asked for.”
Elgin has been trying to position itself to be more attractive as a grant recipient by making its program as efficient as possible, Bertram said.
Line replacement began in 2018, before it became a state mandate, and the city has systematically been going neighborhood by neighborhood as a means of combining and reducing costs. An online website shows where construction will be done in the upcoming year.
Property owners are notified when the program is starting in their area, and meetings are held with residents to ensure they understand what’s going to happen and to answer questions, Bertram said.
For the work to be done free of charge at their home, a property owner must sign up on the city’s website and fill out required paperwork, including a temporary easement that allows construction crews to do work on private property.
Filling out paperwork may be intimidating, but “if people are nervous about signing it, we will talk them through it,” Bertram said. “It does take some talking with people and making sure they are comfortable with it.”
While there have been some property owners who haven’t participated, “we get a really good response rate,” she said. “The number of people who have said no is a very low percentage.”
Last year, Elgin started working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify and accelerate lead pipe replacement work through an initiative called Get the Lead Out (GLO).
GLO has helped the city with public outreach by creating public outreach materials, including translating information into Spanish and Lao, Bertram said. Its consultants also help with filing federal grant applications, she said.
Tiffany Reed, an EPA consultant, spoke at a recent Elgin City Council about GLO’s efforts to promote the city’s voluntary water testing program, identify areas where there are likely to be a high number of lead service lines, and verify the accuracy of historical records and visual inspections of lines.
Community engagement is one of GLO’s central missions, Reed said. Its representatives will be available to answer questions at the Downtown Elgin Farmers Market on May 30, June 27 and July 25, she said.
The best marketing is word of mouth, Bertram said. People who’ve had their lines replaced should share their experience with friends and neighbors to explain how it works and to alleviate some of the fears, she said.
Any property owner who has questions about the lead service line replacement program also can call 311, she added.
“We have a lot of staff who have been doing this for four years and are very well versed on any questions,” Bertram said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
