As lead service line replacement efforts ramp up in communities across the country, we conducted anonymous interviews with mayors and utility staff from four Illinois communities who are working to comply with the Illinois state mandate to replace lead service lines.
The mayors of these communities largely recognized the need for lead service line replacement and were in varying stages of the process: some had just finished developing their inventory, others were planning for replacement, and some were actively replacing. However, among all mayors, sustained funding to pay for these projects was considered the greatest challenge. To address these funding challenges, mayors sought support from EPA and state agencies, such as the Illinois EPA, for help with writing applications and navigating loan requirements. One mayor formed a coalition with mayors from other communities with high lead pipe burdens to advocate for additional federal funding. Others worked with state and federal representatives to secure grant funding through the Illinois’ capital budget and other sources. One thing is clear from these interviews: sustained funding for lead service line replacement is top of mind for mayors and particularly important for communities that have a large burden.
This is very straightforward. We knew what we needed to do, knew it was monumentally expensive, but the work was manageable and not many surprises along the way. – Illinois mayor, population <20,000
Mayors in these communities often coordinated lead service line replacement with other capital improvements, such as water main replacements, sewer maintenance, and road enhancements. Coordinating these efforts minimized resident disruption and reduced costs; however, managing relationships with multiple consultants, engineers, and managing the timeline for these joint ventures can cause administrative stress. Despite these challenges, some mayors noted that tying in LSL replacement with more familiar projects helped minimize push back from the public, who may not yet have bought into a lead service line replacement program, and created efficiencies in the long run.
At the same time, coordination across departments and collaboration can reduce administrative burdens. Some mayors enlisted other departments to assist in identifying service line materials; by leveraging routine activities, such as pre-sale home inspections, meter replacements, and other routine services, mayors were able to widen sources of inventory information. This approach allowed them to expand their inventory without disrupting residents or creating new invasive processes.
Illinois mayors recognized the multiple benefits to LSL replacement, such as building up community workforce, creating training opportunities and optimizing already existing infrastructure needs and priorities.
Finally, community engagement is key to an effective lead service line replacement program. Mayors largely recognized the need for a comprehensive community engagement process. Mayors noted the need to employ various engagement strategies, including mailed letters, social media, paper and online surveys, door-to-door outreach, pop-up tables at community events, and public meetings. Community engagement was approached as a multi-purpose effort to educate residents about the overall issue of lead in water, to raise awareness of the need and urgency for replacements, and to increase participation in replacement efforts. Mayors recognized the administrative burden of community outreach and noted that partnering with outside entities increased the capacity for engagement efforts. Almost all mayors noted that with continued engagement efforts, community buy-in grows, and residents got acclimated to the process. It is also important to address different education needs in the community depending on the level of awareness of the issue. Some suggestions included creating materials in different languages, approaching people with detailed information on public health risks and specifics of the LSLR process, and developing a list of FAQs based on community questions. Overall, the best approach to reach the most residents was to utilize diverse outreach methods.
We’re building trust in the community and that’s an ongoing process. We’re figuring out the best ways to do that and to reach target populations that perhaps we can’t reach through traditional methods. – Illinois mayor, population >100,000
About the communities we interviewed
For this project, we selected four communities in Illinois with a high prevalence of lead service lines (30–95%) to highlight the challenges they face. These communities vary in size, with populations ranging from approximately 20,000 to over 100,000 residents. At the time of the interviews, the communities were at different stages of the lead service line replacement process, including planning, conducting initial inventories, and actively replacing lead pipes.