A long-term project to identify and eventually remove all lead water supply pipes in Franklin Park recently got underway.

At its May 16 meeting, the Village Board approved a one-year, $150,000 contract with locally-based engineering firm Smith LaSalle to conduct a community survey in order to find out which of an estimated 2,000 water service lines are made of lead.

Located just south of O’Hare International Airport, the suburb of some 18,000 residents does not have any lead water mains in the ground, according to officials.

“If there’s any lead pipe, it might be found running from the village main supply pipe to residential houses,” Village Engineer Tom McCabe said. “That’s what we’re trying to determine.”

Now underway, the survey asks Franklin Park home owners to advise the village whether the water pipes entering their houses are made of copper, galvanized steel or lead.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children are more vulnerable to lead’s adverse health effects, which can include hyperactivity, lower IQ, slowed growth, anemia and problems with learning, behavior and hearing.

On August 27, 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act, which requires an inventory and disconnection of all lead pipes that supply drinking water in Illinois. Pipe replacement then must be completed on a time schedule based on the size of the community.

In the case of Franklin Park, a final inventory of lead pipe in the village must be provided to a state advisory board by April 15, 2024, according to the state law, and a replacement plan must be submitted by 2027. Lead pipe replacement then must be done at a rate of 6% per year and take no more than 17 years for final completion.

The state law also specifies the replacement of galvanized steel pipe that might be downstream of any lead pipe.

“We’re not talking about Flint, Michigan, here in Franklin Park,” Village President Barrett Pedersen said. “We’re simply sending out a survey for people to let the village know what kind of service line they have. Assuming we get the surveys back in a few months, we’ll then know which homes have any lead pipe coming into the house and need replacement.”

The surveys, which are being sent out with water bills and available on the village website, can be returned by mail, in-person or by email, officials explained.

In addition to preparing the water pipe survey, the Smith LaSalle contract also specifies that the company will tabulate results, follow-up with those who do not return surveys, update the village water main atlas and prepare engineering plans and a multi-year replacement schedule, among other requirements.

Officials report that financing for the project will come from various sources, including a portion from the EPA through the $2.9 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for lead service line replacement available this year.

Other federal funding for lead pipe replacement may be sought from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act grants, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act 5 and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Block Grant program, according to the EPA.

Federal estimates put the number of lead water service lines in the U.S. at between six and 10 million. Of those, Illinois is estimated to have more lead pipes than any other state in the nation, with at least 686,000 connecting homes to water mains.

According to a Chicago Tribune report, Chicago has 400,000 lead water service lines, the most in the nation for a large city.

“Given the fact that there are multiple funding sources and the time it takes to prepare, review and approve engineering plans, I don’t think we’re going to start any replacements for another couple years,” Pedersen said. “Still, I’d say Franklin Park is going to start replacing pipe much sooner than the state is expecting.”

In a news release, the Illinois Environmental Council said projects to replace lead service lines could greatly boost employment throughout the state. Quoting a 2020 Metropolitan Planning Council analysis, the group stated that some 11,225 jobs per year in the skilled trades could be created, with over $1 billion in economic activity related to lead pipe replacement.

Gary Gibula is a freelancer.