Public asks Villa Park to develop lead‑service‑line replacement program; staff outlines inventory and cost estimate

Tom King submitted a letter and asked the board to develop and implement a lead service line replacement program consistent with Illinois Public Act 102‑0613, which requires community water suppliers to submit a material inventory and plan for identifying and removing lead service lines and to provide notifications to owners and occupants.

Director of Public Works (Director Guerrero) said the village initially estimated about 3% of service lines—roughly 240—may be lead and that full replacement could cost approximately $5 million. Staff described their inventory work: replacing meters and inspecting service lines during ongoing construction projects, reporting galvanized lines as well as lead, and refining the database ahead of the April state submission deadline. The village has been replacing public‑side segments as part of road projects and plans to continue incremental replacements tied to construction contracts.

Director Guerrero noted many neighboring municipalities offer programs that share or cover the homeowner side costs; he said Villa Park is tracking grant opportunities and state rule changes but had not adopted a formal replacement program at the meeting. Staff said additional technical and budgetary discussion with trustees will be needed to decide if and how the village shares replacement costs with property owners.