East Moline is not only making big street improvements to downtown and The Bend area. It has a major multi-year initiative to help protect drinking water citywide.
The improvements are part of East Moline’s “Get the Lead Out” program, an effort focused on protecting public health and modernizing essential water infrastructure.
“There’s a lot of positive change happening in East Moline, both above and below ground,” said Mayor Reggie Freeman. “We’re seeing great momentum transforming our downtown, and now we’re making important upgrades to strengthen the infrastructure that supports our community.”
East Moline is making two major improvements to its water system: replacing lead service lines at private properties and introducing an enhanced water treatment process.
In the city of 20,453 residents, elevated lead levels are most often linked to older, privately-owned lead and galvanized service lines and in-home plumbing. To address this issue, the city is replacing lead and galvanized service lines across the community, including portions located on private property. This work will require coordination with homeowners and businesses and short-term construction.
“Right now, East Moline is in the middle of a major transformation. Many people see that in our downtown. New investment, new energy and visible change across the community,” Brianna Huber, city water filtration director, said Thursday before a two-hour open house on the program at East Moline School District on Morton Drive. “But just as important is the work happening behind the scenes. We're making major upgrades to the systems that support everyday life.
“Our utilities, our drinking water, wastewater and storm water systems. These are the systems that protect public health, support local businesses and keep our community running. And a key part of that effort is what we're doing to drinking water,” she said. “Our drinking water continues to meet all state and federal standards when it leaves the water filtration plant.
"And we carefully monitor water quality for various contaminants and treatment effectiveness every day. This includes public monitoring for lead. To build on that strong foundation, the city is taking proactive steps to further reduce potential sources of lead exposure.”
While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires such changes be made within 17 years, the Illinois EPA is requiring such improvements within 10 years, and East Moline is launching now, Huber noted, with over $20 million in improvements, supported with $8 million in state forgivable loans.
The replacement of lead service lines is at no cost to homeowners, Huber said. Any lead pipes within a home are the responsibility of the property owner, she added.
With water treatment changes, “these efforts are designed to reduce risk and strengthen our water system for the future,” Huber said, noting the biggest risk for lead exposure is older service lines, especially in homes before built before 1986. East Moline has identified about 2,000 privately owned service lines that may be lead or galvanized material.
“We continue to develop our service line inventory and many residents throughout the city of East Moline have already seen this in action and have helped by reporting their service line material or allowing city staff to come to their home to identify the service line material,” she said.
“We will continue working with residents to identify all service line materials throughout the city. We are also moving quickly to replace all privately owned lead and galvanized service line-with the goal of 100% replacement by the end of 2028. We've already replaced just over 420 and just this week we are now working, starting to work through East Moline neighborhoods.”
The city expects to replace 900 to 1,000 lines over the next year, Huber said.
“At the same time, we're updating how we treat water using the latest EPA recommended approach, and so we're transitioning our corrosion control treatment from pH adjustment to orthophosphate, which is a safe and widely used treatment that forms a protective coating inside pipes to help keep lead out of the drinking water," she said.
"It's the same type of compound that is used in food and beverages today and is used in water systems across the country and across the world.”’
Possible changes in drinking water
Through this transition, residents may notice changes in their water. The process begins with hydrant flushing, and once completed, the city will introduce orthophosphate into water treatment.
“During this time, it's very important that residents pay attention to any changes in their water,” Huber said. “The process essentially breaks down and flushes out some of the current pipe coating and contaminants that are trapped in that current coating. While the system adjusts, homes with lead and galvanized service lines are most at risk for lead exposure.
During this transition, some residents may notice water discoloration, changes in taste or smell, increased sediment or particles, and changes in water pressure. The transition is anticipated to take approximately 12 months, and changes may vary by location and may come and go during this time.
“This transition is being carefully managed and monitored by water quality experts and has been approved by the Illinois EPA,” she said. “The city has a structured approach in place, including hydro flushing as needed, increasing water quality monitoring for things like lead, copper, iron and manganese and tracking how protective coatings are formed inside pipes.
"We're also keeping the public updated and responding quickly to any questions or concerns along the way," Huber said. "While the city works to replace service lines and enhance water treatment, there are simple steps that residents can take.
“If you haven't used your water for several hours, or if you notice changes in your water, flush your pipes by running the cold water for several minutes prior to use,” she said. “Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula. "
Clean the faucet aerators regularly, and use a water filter that's certified to remove lead. Most importantly, city staff are available to provide guidance, resources, and support to help residents take each of these steps confidently.
"Replacing lead service lines and updating our water treatment are critical steps to protecting our water and the health of our community," Huber said. "And we're taking these steps now to make sure that water is reliable for years to come. We are here to answer resident questions, provide guidance through every step of this transition.”
The city plans to complete the lead service line inventory by the end of 2026, after working on it for more than two years so far, she noted. They anticipate about 2,000 lines that are lead or galvanized material, out of about 7,000 residential service lines.
Lead water lines typically are only in residential buildings. Commercial properties usually have larger service lines that are made out of different materials, Huber said.
The city engineering department, in coordination with the contractor that the city hired to replace lead service lines, will be reaching out to customers directly to let them know when they're going to be in their neighborhood replacing lead service lines, what that process looks like, and walk them through each individual step, make sure they are informed ahead of what's coming to their neighborhood, she said.
Residents who have questions about their property can call the city at 309-752-1520 or 309-752-1540.
Up to five days to replace lines
For each home, it usually takes up to five days to replace water service lines, and the pipes inside a home are much less likely to contain lead, Huber said.
Every community in the country is going through a similar process, she noted.
“Every municipality in the United States, if they have lead or galvanized service lines, are going to be aiming to replace them. East Moline has chosen to take a rather aggressive schedule,” Huber said. “A lot of utilities are aiming for maybe 10 or 15 years to replace them. And we just really wanted to knock it out as quickly as we could so that we could, you know, protect our community better.”
There are many forms of lead that can be dangerous, especially for children under the age of six, she said.
The EPA says young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults.
A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.
“We're just really eager to again try and remove this risk specifically from the drinking water within the city of East Moline, because that's what's within our control,” Huber said.
“Like the other sources of lead exposure are not within our control, but this is within our control. And we want people to have faith and trust in their water system and believe that their public water is worth it.”
The water leaving the city treatment plant meets or exceeds EPA standards.
“It's only a concern for those individual homes that have a lead or galvanized service line that the water within that home specifically could be contaminated by that service line,” Huber said.
“And so we really are looking forward to the partnership with the community to be able to get the lead out and remove or significantly reduce the exposure.”
East Moline plans to replace all roughly 2,000 lead service lines by 2028. For more information, visit www.eastmoline.com/461/Get-The-Lead-Out.
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