Evanston To Replace Drinking Fountains With Higher Lead Levels

EVANSTON, IL — After testing found elevated levels of lead in 10 Evanston drinking water fountains, Public Works Director Dave Stoneback proposed replacing an additional three fountains this summer on top of the five already scheduled to be swapped out, Evanston Now reported.

After fixing up eight fountains this summer, Stoneback told alderman he intends to replace 11 more fountains that showed slight levels of lead next year, according to Evanston Now. Then in 2019, he hopes to fix any remaining fountains that show any lead levels at all.

The average cost to replace a water fountain is between $25,000 and $30,000, Stoneback said.

Of Evanston's 59 water fountains, 13 have now been shut off for the rest of the summer. (Three had already been scheduled for replacement before the latest round of testing, and five are within the jurisdiction of the Ridgeville Park District.)

Stoneback said meters and valves in the cooper pipes of five of the fountains may be the source of the lead, and after replacing them he hopes the water could be turned back on, according to the Daily Northwestern.

See the full list of water sample testing results sorted by lead level (via the City of Evanston)

Or check out this map:

» Read more from The Daily Northwestern and Evanston Now.

Top photo via Pixabay