Galesburg will finish replacing all lead water pipes by next year

The city has just begun phase 5 of 6 of its renewal process and is hoping to remove 500 more lead lines this summer.

GALESBURG, Ill. – Galesburg says plan to replace lead water service tubes is nearing its end. Now the last 1,000 lines should be removed by next fall.

In the lead pipe replacement, the city is in the fifth of six phases. Your contractor plans to remove 500 lines this summer, beginning July 19, and complete the final 500 lines next year.

“We started exchanging Lead Service Lines in 2017. It’s a relief to be so close to the end of the exchange program,” said Tim Fey, Water Superintendent for Galesburg. “It is important that the leading service lines are replaced as this is a health problem. It’s a health problem. We’ve been dealing with this for a number of years and it will be a relief to finish. ”

All 3,000 lines were originally supposed to be replaced after Galesburg underwent an intensive EPA investigation for lead poisoning in children in 2015. Every summer since then, the city has hired JC Dillion, Inc., a private plumbing company, to solve the problem. Although the lines are owned by homeowners, Galesburg is paying the full replacement thanks to a forgivable loan from the state.

RELATED: Muscatine Power and Water Deals Natural Gas; Environmental groups are pushing back

“Our dig team will come through, they’ll dig the aqueduct,” said Jon Dillon, superintendent at JC Dillion. “Then they’ll put a cable through that [lead] Line, slide it all the way through and pull it. This trenchless technology has made it easier for us to be less invasive on the roads. We don’t have to block a road, we can keep the traffic going. ”

It’s a big factor in making the transition so quickly. The team digs two holes on either side of the road and then pulls the lead line out from below before pulling the new plastic line out from under the road and out on the other side.

The crew can complete the entire process in around 3-4 hours, typically reaching five a day. For the new pipe, they turn to a blue plastic called polyethylene.

“It keeps out the corrosion on the pipes,” said Dillion. “With copper, a large part of the acid in the pipe or in the ground would be eaten away. But with polyethylene it is a lifespan of at least 40 years.”

And the imminent destination of Galesburg actually comes at a favorable time for the city. Illinois has a new law on Governor Pritzker’s desk obliging all cities across the state to replace all of their lead water lines.

RELATED: A Savanna Manufacturing Company Makes One Million Water Bottle Refill Stations

“We’re ahead of the curve at this point,” noted Fey. “With the start in 2017 we made a good leap into the program. Now some have turned to us about how we are doing it and how our program has gone.”

While Galesburg doesn’t all get rid of their lead pipes this year, some of which have been in use for nearly a century, that number is getting smaller every day.

“Everyone doesn’t like change sometimes,” said Dillion. “But you know, it’s a change for the better, right.”

The City of Galesburg was selected for an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grant for a project to …

Posted by Galesburg City, IL Government on Monday Jun 21, 2021

You might also like

Comments are closed.