LSLR Collaborative
  • Home
  • Roadmap
    • Getting Started
    • Legal Factors
    • Funding
    • Plan Development
  • Replacement
    • Approaches to Replacement
    • Preparing an Inventory
    • Understanding Replacement Techniques
    • Communicating About LSLs
    • Coordinating Replacement
  • Equity
    • Guide to Equity Analysis
    • Coordination and Partnership
    • Defining Disadvantaged Communities
    • Equity Tools and Data Sources
  • Policies
    • Community Access to Funding
    • Helping Consumers
    • Requiring LSL Replacement
    • Engaging other Programs
    • Risk Communication Improvement
  • EPA's LCR
    • Key Terms
    • Key Requirements and Opportunities
  • Resources
    • Intro to LSL Replacement
    • LSL Replacement in the News
    • Child Care and Schools
    • Role of Public Health Professionals
    • Webinars >
      • Upcoming Webinars and Events
    • Case Examples
    • Filling Data Gaps
    • Recursos en Español
    • Downloadable Resources
    • Matchmaking Survey
  • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Feedback

LSL Replacement in the NEWS​

State funds could be available for lead service line replacement in Springfield

1/15/2020

 
Brenden Moore, State Journal Register

See the full article here.

Members of the Springfield City Council are giving City Water, Light and Power the green light to borrow $1 million from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to help fund the utility’s effort to replace Springfield’s remaining lead service lines over the next 30 years.

Council members voted in Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting to place the ordinance on the consent agenda for next week’s City Council meeting, meaning it is all but assured of passage.
Basically, if awarded by the state, the funds would be used to assist low-income home owners in the replacement of the customer-owned portion of the service line along with contracting work to repair streets, sidewalks and landscaping impacted by construction.
While the city owns the portion of service lines between the water main and curb stop, property owners are responsible for the remaining portion leading to their homes. Estimated costs for replacing the lead pipes range from $2,000-3,000.

“What we’ve been doing over the years is the city pays for our portion, the homeowner pays for their portion,” said CWLP water division manager Ted Meckes. “So that will continue up until we get the money and then we will help pay for those who can’t afford it.”

Though considered a loan, it would come with 100 percent forgiveness on the principal, meaning the city would not have to pay it back. The utility hopes to get word from the Illinois EPA in the next few months on if Springfield will be awarded the funds.

Meckes estimated that about 10,000 of the city’s 53,000 service connections have lead pipes. The city switched from using lead to copper for service lines around 1930, meaning that nearly all remaining lead service lines are in the inner-city older neighborhoods.

The utility hopes to replace between 250 and 350 lead service lines per year, Meckes said.

Much of the work would be focused on the city’s east side and north end. Meckes said the utility planned to the work “neighborhood by neighborhood,” hoping to concentrate in areas with a larger number of lead service lines. But, he said nothing has been finalized.

Meckes said the expectation is that the law will eventually change to force cities to replace lead service lines, so the utility is getting out ahead of that. He said the utility has replaced several service lines over the years in conjunction with other construction projects.
​
Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso asked Meckes if there was any concern about lead in the city’s drinking water, wanting “to make it crystal clear that people we’re not living in Flint, Michigan.”
Meckes responded by saying that the utility does 50 samples every three years, and “came up with no detects on the lead service line this time around.”

Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Have a suggestion for an article or blog to add?
    Let us know!

    Type

    All
    Announcements
    Articles/ Blogs On The Collaborative
    News/ Blogs About LSLs

    Date

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

Home
About Us
Feedback
The goal of the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative is to accelerate voluntary lead service line replacement in communities across the United States.
Links to external resources do not constitute an endorsement from the Collaborative.
  • Home
  • Roadmap
    • Getting Started
    • Legal Factors
    • Funding
    • Plan Development
  • Replacement
    • Approaches to Replacement
    • Preparing an Inventory
    • Understanding Replacement Techniques
    • Communicating About LSLs
    • Coordinating Replacement
  • Equity
    • Guide to Equity Analysis
    • Coordination and Partnership
    • Defining Disadvantaged Communities
    • Equity Tools and Data Sources
  • Policies
    • Community Access to Funding
    • Helping Consumers
    • Requiring LSL Replacement
    • Engaging other Programs
    • Risk Communication Improvement
  • EPA's LCR
    • Key Terms
    • Key Requirements and Opportunities
  • Resources
    • Intro to LSL Replacement
    • LSL Replacement in the News
    • Child Care and Schools
    • Role of Public Health Professionals
    • Webinars >
      • Upcoming Webinars and Events
    • Case Examples
    • Filling Data Gaps
    • Recursos en Español
    • Downloadable Resources
    • Matchmaking Survey
  • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Feedback