In 2013, the West Central Illinois city of Monmouth hired Woodard & Curran to operate its Department of Public Works, which includes drinking water treatment and distribution among a myriad of other responsibilities. The utility sources its supply from six groundwater wells and operates two treatment plants to provide drinking water to nearly 10,000 people. With the promulgation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead & Copper Rule Revision (LCRR), and later the Lead & Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), the city was required to inventory its nearly 3,650 metered connections for residential, commercial, and industrial users to determine where there were lead service lines (LSLs) and develop a plan for replacement.
Woodard & Curran used a combination of local construction records, historical knowledge, public outreach, and visual inspections to compile a Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI), which identified 76 service connections on the private side and 877 additional service connections on the public side as lead or galvanized requiring replacement (GRR). However, there are 770 connections where the private side and public side are both classified as lead or GRR and an additional 1,111 classified as unknown, requiring further investigation.
Of the 3,692 service connections, the city is required to investigate, verify, and accordingly replace 2,834 total connections. The project team supported the city’s development of a long-term plan to achieve regulatory compliance by 2037. This includes maximizing the number of service lines replaced in fiscal year (FY) 2026 while funding is still available with 100 percent forgiveness through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Public Water Supply Loan Program. Our fiscal solutions team supported the city’s pursuit for funding, which included approximately $2.7 million at 100 percent principal forgiveness in FY 2025 and an additional approximately $3 million for FY 2026, most of which will receive principal forgiveness and $562,000 at 0 percent interest. Our experts will continue to collaborate on funding pursuits to fulfill the city’s goal of replacing approximately 215 lines annually.
Monmouth was also chosen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of 200 underserved communities to participate in their Get the Lead Out (GLO) Initiative. This program is helping selected cities with funding and work required under the federal regulation. Under this program, our team helped conduct more than 300 pothole investigations to determine pipe material and canvased the community with educational information to leave with residents. This material served to help residents inspect their service line material and report findings back to the city.
Exposure to lead poses the greatest risk to young children and pregnant women. For this reason, both state and federal regulations prioritize high-risk facilities in their plan for LSL verification and replacement. Based on this regulatory guidance, the city identified 27 preschools, daycare centers, daycare homes, group daycare homes, parks, playgrounds, hospitals, and clinics that require LSL verification and potentially need replacement. Census data was then used to prioritize the high-risk facilities in disadvantaged areas of the city.