Western Springs Ahead Of Others On Lead Pipe Removal

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs is ahead of neighboring towns in its project to remove lead pipes, which is a state and federal mandate.

On Monday, the Village Board plans to vote on a $1.1 million contract with Chicago-based Anchor Mechanical to replace 47 lead pipes.

Last year, the village said 512 pipes needed to be replaced, costing $11.5 million. The federal government is requiring the work get done in 10 years, starting in 2027.

In La Grange and Hinsdale, officials are still talking about lead line removal, nowhere near the stage of going out to bid.

At last week's Hinsdale Village Board meeting, trustees said they needed to make decisions by the end of the summer. A public works officials told them that the sooner, the better, given that labor and material costs will spike as more towns go out to bid.

In Hinsdale, 300 homes have such pipes.

La Grange has a much higher hurdle than Western Springs and Hinsdale. It has a staggering 3,200 homes' pipes – two-thirds of the total – needing to be replaced.

The village president has called the amount of work "somewhat depressing." The estimate is nearly $70 million.

Removal of lead lines is occurring across the nation in response to a federal mandate that a crisis in Flint, Michigan, inspired.

Lead pipes become dangerous health-wise for users when they corrode. In the mid-1980s, the government banned the installation of such lines.