IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
The City of Belvidere Municipal Water System Failed to Include Lead and Copper Sample Sites on our Initial Service Line Inventory
Our water system recently violated a drinking water requirement. As our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we did to correct this situation.
The City of Belvidere completed and made publicly available an initial inventory of service lines connected to our distribution system by October 16, 2024. The inventory identified the service line materials as lead, galvanized requiring replacement (GRR)1, lead-status unknown/unknown, or non-lead. Identifying and ultimately removing lead and GRR service lines is an important way to protect public health. We failed to include lead and copper sample sites on our Initial Service Line Inventory.
We first notified persons served at service connections with a lead, galvanized, or unknown service line on February 8, 2024, by placing a water service survey on the City’s website. The survey was then direct mailed to persons served at service connections that had yet to respond to the survey. The water service survey can be found at the City’s website, www.belvidereil.gov, under the News and Events Tab. The current Service Line Inventory can also be found at the City’s website, under the Public Works Tab.
*Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems.*
What should I do?
Listed below are some steps you can take to reduce your exposure to lead:
- Learn what your service line material is. If you have not yet completed a water service survey, please complete the attached survey and return it to the Water Department at 401 Whitney Boulevard, Belvidere, Illinois 61008. If you have any questions on completing the survey please contact us at 815-544-6622 during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.) Protect Your Tap: A quick check for lead is the EPA’s online step by step guide to learn how to find lead pipes in your home. www.epa.gov/pyt
- Learn about construction in your neighborhood. Unless your service line is not made of lead or galvanized you should be aware of any nearby construction or maintenance work that could disturb the line. Ground tremors from construction may suddenly cause more lead to be released from lead or galvanized service lines in the area.
- Use your filter properly. Using a filter can reduce lead in drinking water. If you use a filter, make sure you use a filter certified to remove lead. Read the directions to learn how to properly install and use your cartridge and when to replace it. Using the cartridge after it has expired can make it less effective at removing lead. Do not run hot water through the filter.
- Clean your aerator. Regularly remove and clean your faucet’s screen (also known as an aerator). Sediment, debris, and lead particles can collect in your aerator. If lead particles are caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water.
- Use cold water. Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula. Remember, boiling water does not remove lead from water.
- Run your water. The more time water has been sitting in pipes, the more lead it may contain. Before drinking, flush your home’s pipes by running the tap, taking a shower, doing laundry, or doing a load of dishes. The amount of time to run the water will depend on whether your home has a lead service line or not, and the length of the lead service line. Residents should contact their water utility for recommendations about flushing times in their community.
- Have your water tested. Please contact the Water Department at 815-544-6622 for information on lead testing providers and to learn more about the lead levels in your drinking water.
What does this mean?
Service line inventories are the foundation from which water systems take action to address a significant source of lead in drinking water. Establishing an inventory of service line materials and identifying the location of lead and GRR service lines is a key step in getting them replaced and protecting public health. Typically, lead enters water supplies by leaching from lead pipes, brass faucets, plumbing with leaded solder, and other plumbing components containing lead. In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water. Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986. Service lines made of galvanized iron or steel that are (or were previously) downstream of lead service lines are classified as galvanized requiring replacement (GRR) because galvanized service lines that are or ever were downstream from an LSL can adsorb lead and contribute to lead in drinking water. Identifying and ultimately removing lead and GRR service lines is an important way to protect public health.
What is being done?
The City has added the Lead and Copper Sample Sites to the inventory and resubmitted the inventory to the IEPA.
For more information on reducing lead exposure around your home/building and the health effects of lead, visit EPA’s Web site at http://www.epa.gov/lead or contact your health care provider.
*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail. *
This notice is being sent to you by the City of Belvidere Water Department. Public Water System ID#:IL0070050.
1. A galvanized requiring replacement service line is a galvanized service line that is or was potentially downstream of a lead service line.