Officials recently detected elevated levels of lead in drinking water in several northern Illinois cities, including Aurora and Elgin. It’s likely due to a new required method of testing. WNIJ News Director Jenna Dooley spoke with environment reporter Jess Savage about the details.
Jenna Dooley (JD): Jess, can you explain how the testing is different?
Jess Savage (JS): Lead testing requirements from the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) changed this year. Public works officials have to test 100 homes every six months. That’s up from 50 homes every three years. The testing method has also changed. Instead of homeowners sending in just the first liter of water that comes out of the faucet, they also have let water keep running through the faucet and collect the fifth liter to be tested.
JD: Why did this make such a difference in testing results?
JS: I think this is really important to understand, and Aurora city officials emphasized this in their notice to residents: there is no detectable lead present in the water that’s leaving the water treatment facility, and there is no lead in any of the water mains that run through the city. Those are the big pipes that run under streets. This new testing method is trying to more accurately sample water that’s running through service lines, which are the smaller pipes that actually bring water from the big water main to our houses.
Jason Bauer is the Director of Public Works and City Engineer for the City of Aurora. He said there were some other notable outcomes from this testing process.
"We had 33 of those samples that also had lead service lines," Bauer said, "and they had undetectable levels of lead. And there was really no rhyme or reason to neighborhoods or parts of the city. It could have been any number of reasons that would cause one to fail and the other to pass."
JD: What has the city done already in response to these test results?
JS: Most of the 19 homes that tested positive for elevated lead — 15 parts per billion — have already had their service lines replaced. Officials also alerted the media to the test results and will replace about 5-to-600 lead service lines a year until they’re all replaced. They’re also looking into treating the water further so that it’s less corrosive and will not degrade lead service lines over time.
JD: What can residents — of Aurora and beyond — do if they think they might have lead service lines?
JS: Peoria, Elgin and North Aurora also found elevated lead through testing. Most homes built during or after the 1980s do not have lead service lines. For residents who live in homes built before then, they can look online at the city’s interactive map to find details about whether their home has a lead service line. Bauer says there are other things you can do, like buying a water filter or making a small adjustment to your morning routine.
"Maybe when you wake up, you take a shower instead of making a pot of coffee," he said. "Because what that's going to do is flush all the water that's been sitting in that lead service line. It's going to flush it out so that when you do go to make a pot of coffee or get a drink of water, you're going to be dealing with water that hasn't been sitting in contact with the lead for a long period of time. You're going to be getting the water straight from the water main.”
Aurora lead service line interactive map
Elgin lead service line interactive map
East Peoria service line interactive map