La Salle takes first step to remove harmful lead lines

This is just to develop, as close to we can get, an inventory.

—  City Engineer Brian Brown

The La Salle City Council approved a proposal from 120Water to survey lead lines, the first step to replacing all lead lined pipes which pose health hazards to residents.

Replacing lead lines is a process with several phases, said Economic Development Director Curt Bedei. The first phase is to conduct a survey and collect information on the amount of lead lines in the city, which is a state mandated order with an April 2024 deadline.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency announced grant funding in February to help communities, including La Salle, by granting the city $40,000 to help cover the cost of doing the survey.

“This is just to develop, as close to we can get, an inventory,” said City Engineer Brian Brown.

The IEPA grant funding requires a third party to do the survey. Bedei said 120Water is one of the only organizations that does this kind of work and said the company is familiar with the process.

Director of Public Works Patrick Watson said 120Water will map out the city and can find some lead lines without digging into the ground. He said the city has changed a few lead lines throughout the past few years, but said there’s many more out there that need to be replaced.

“They (120Water) know what they’re doing they’ve been doing it for years,” Brown said.

In the future, Bedei said the city will be able to apply for additional grant funding to help cover the cost of replacing lead lines.