Robbins is getting a $4 million low-interest state loan to replace hundreds of lead water lines serving homes, according to the village and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
While the south suburb will have to repay interest, it won’t have to pay the loan’s principal, according to the agency.
The money will pay to replace lead service lines at 450 homes, mainly in the older areas of Robbins, where homes are likely to have lead lines due to their age, said Mayor Darren Bryant and Bernard Ward, an adviser to the village on water infrastructure.
“We’re immensely grateful that we will be able to replace hundreds of lead lines for essential drinking water,” Bryant said.
According to the IEPA, low-interest revolving loans are available for water and sewer projects, and some disadvantaged communities qualify for forgiveness of the loan’s principal.
“Lead service lines are an ongoing challenge for all communities, but especially our smaller systems that do not have financial resources to undertake the replacement of hundreds or thousands of these pipes,” John Kim, the agency’s director, was quoted in a news release.
The IEPA and Robbins said replacement will include full water service replacement from the water main to the residential meter.
Bryant and Ward said work will begin with educational material showing homeowners how to check whether their water service line is lead, and said the village will also inspect older homes that are likely to have lead lines.
The IEPA reports homes built before 1990 may have lead service lines or plumbing fixtures and faucets containing lead. Lead is a toxic metal that can accumulate in the body over time and can enter drinking water when corrosion of pipes or fixtures occurs, according to the agency.
Bryant said work is scheduled to start in spring and finish by late summer, and that replacement of lines will involve digging trenches in village easements and in property owners’ yards.
Ward said the village looked at records and is focusing on homes in the southeast section of Robbins, where properties went up before the 1950s.
He said Friday there may be homes scattered elsewhere where lead lines are being used.
Bryant said the village will notify homeowners when work will begin in their area.