La Salle identifies high amount of lead in some homes' water
Drinking water quality monitoring conducted by the City of La Salle in 2023 has found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in a few homes/buildings in the community. As such, the City of La Salle with the Environmental Protection Agency is mailing all residents a lead educational pamphlet which is included with this letter. We have no evidence the issue is related to the City’s Water Treatment Plant and is likely site-specific relating to plumbing and fixtures. This notice is not indicative that lead has been identified in your specific home.
How was the lead identified?
The City of La Salle, like all municipalities, is concerned about the health of its residents because lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters your body from drinking water or other sources. The City of La Salle conducts regular lead sampling and a testing of 47 homes in 2023 resulted in six homes coming back with levels exceeding the EPA limit. These six homes were notified of the exceedance and the City is working to replace their service lines. These samples are gathered by the homeowner in homes/businesses that have all different types of ages of pipes and fixtures. Improper collection may also impact these studies.
Is this an ongoing issue?
The City of La Salle has conducted more recent sampling of 40 homes, 33 tests have come back as of March 14th and only one home recorded levels exceeding the EPA limit. It’s important to note that drinking water when it leaves the Water Treatment Plant meets all federal guidelines and this is not indicative of water quality from the Water Treatment Plant. A test result coming back with an exceedance is possibly indicative of water lines or fixtures in the home such as a faucet. In those cases, it can be resolved by replacing old fixtures. Often the presence of lead is more common in older homes.
What are the next steps?
This communication is part of the City of La Salle Public Education Plan regarding lead. The City of La Salle is, as are other communities, currently conducting lead line inventory and is currently in the lengthy process of replacing lead lines. The City will continue to conduct regular lead line sampling and further notices will go out if exceedances are discovered. Additional information regarding the health effects of lead, sources of lead, testing for lead, testing done by the City of La Salle, and steps that can be taken to reduce exposure is included in the attached pamphlet. Call us at 815-224-1650 for more information or visit our website for additional copies of these materials at lasalle-il.gov.