Lead In Clarendon Hills Water? No, Village Says

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Clarendon Hills responded to social media commentary over the weekend that alleged lead was in the village's water supply.

No lead is in the water, the village said in a statement.

"We would like to put folks at ease," the village said.

Like many suburbs, Clarendon Hills' water comes from the city of Chicago.

The village said it treats the water supply to ensure that it meets safe drinking water standards.

This effort includes adding orthophosphate to coat the inside of water lines to prevent lead from an old lead water pipe from entering the water flow, according to the statement.

The vast majority of homes in Clarendon Hills have copper lines without any lead.

However, 160 homes either have lead or galvanized water pipes, the village said. Disturbances to the pipes can cause the preventative coating to come loose and impact that particular home.

The owners of all 160 homes have received notices that their lines have been identified as needing to be replaced by 2037, as the federal government mandates, the village said.

Even those homes don't necessarily have lead in their water, as the orthophosphate protects the water from having contact with the lead pipe, according to the village.

The state EPA requires the village to test 25 percent of those homes twice a year to ensure their water comes back within clean drinking water standards.

Clarendon Hills has a lower burden than some towns. For instance, La Grange has identified about two-thirds of its homes as having lead lines.