Geneva aldermen recommend nearly $100K engineering contract for lead pipe replacement – Shaw Local

GENEVA – Geneva city councilors on Monday recommended approving a $98,750 engineering contract to replace about 900 leaded and galvanized water pipes in the oldest part of the city.

The lead and galvanized plumbing is connected to a water main that is over 100 years old and needs to be replaced.

The City Council will make the final decision on the full committee’s recommendation for the consulting agreement with Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick Inc., Elgin.

The work is required to comply with the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act and the city must submit its plans to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said.

“We estimate that by 2027 at the latest, about 900 lead and electroplated water lines will need to be replaced,” Dawkins said.

The cost will be paid within the existing budget and could require a future budget adjustment, officials said.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes and brass or bronze faucets and fittings.

“The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree that there is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood,” the epa.gov website said. “Measures to reduce these exposures can improve outcomes. Lead is harmful to health, especially for children.”

Water and Wastewater Superintendent Bob VanGyseghem said the city has replaced about 80 to 85 leading utility lines over the past 2 1/2 years as part of a reimbursement program.

According to the city’s website, www.geneva.il.us, the program allows homeowners up to $6,500 in reimbursement for a low-bid contractor replacing lead or galvanized water.

“The ones we’re going to focus on in the program are where the water main is at least 100 years old, which is often the case downtown,” VanGyseghem said.

The department needs the technical adviser’s support for submissions to the IEPA beyond specifying how many tubes are to be replaced, VanGyseghem said.

“They need to come up with a plan to show how we’re going to pay for it. There are many administrative details that need to be included in the plan,” VanGyseghem said. “That would probably have been difficult for me alone without a consultant.”

Radal Newkirk, the company’s design engineering manager and resident of Geneva, said: “The city is at the forefront of the communities seeking to fund this.”

“One of the programs that we’re going to put together is lead service replacement, and that’s how the EPA is issuing funds to communities as part of the loan forgiveness to replace those lead service lines,” Newkirk said. “The sooner we line up for this, the better off we’re going to be fully funded for it.”

Newkirk said other communities have already gone through the process and successfully received a refund.

“I feel like we’re ahead of that,” Newkirk said.

First Ward Alderman Michal Bruno asked if the city was only working on the replacement work for residents who had applied for the work.

VanGyseghem said they have identified pipes to be replaced as they have been replacing water meters since 2011.

“We know 80% to 90% of the properties in Geneva that offer leading services,” said VanGyseghem.

“The only time we have it mandatory is if we have a leak in the service line. And based on the rules of the IEPA that the governor signed off on, that service needs to be replaced,” VanGyseghem said.

As for whether the city will be able to keep up with the time requirements, City Attorney Ron Sandack said communities will have an obligation to meet the time constraints.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were extensions,” Sandack said. “But I think every community has to make a good faith effort to comply. I would recommend that we do everything we can to meet the requirements.”

The list of roads to be addressed for water supply line replacement is included in the Committee of the Whole Agenda Pack at www.geneva.il.us.