KEWANEE, Ill. — The City of Kewanee is collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to find and replace potentially dangerous lead water pipes across town.
The EPA's Get the Lead Out Initiative is helping about 200 communities across the country achieve 100% lead service line replacement. It's fully funded through President Biden's 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Through this partnership, the EPA will work with Kewanee to create a lead service line inventory, finding where potentially dangerous lead pipes are in use across town. Such an inventory is necessary to fully identify the funding needs of a community, according to the EPA.
The GLO initiative will also formulate community engagement plans for Kewanee. This is meant to provide educational resources, invite community input and provide a path for officials to directly engage with residents impacted by lead pipes.
Additional work includes mapping out plans for Kewanee to start replacing all of the pipes, including on public and private land. There will also be customized assistance for State Revolving Fund Applications to help Kewanee pay for the pipes.
Lead in drinking water has been linked to serious health problems, including irreversible harm to brain development in children.
The 2021 Infrastructure Law provides $15 billion to replace lead pipes, but the EPA says many underserved communities lack the resources to access federal investments and plan for replacement.
“We appreciate the technical assistance provided by the EPA and its partners under the GLO program,” City of Kewanee Manager Gary Bradley said in a press release. “This will enable our people to stay focused on the replacement of lead service lines, improving the safety of our distribution system. Being one of just 200 communities in the program shows how big of a need the community has, and we’re grateful for the help.”
Under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, all public water utilities are required to create an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024.
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