Mayor of Aurora, John Laesch, honored congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) and congressman Bill Foster (D-IL-11) at Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, for bringing nearly $1.1 million in federal funds to the City of Aurora.
The funding, totaling $1,092,000, was part of the “Lead-Free Water Project” and will be used to replace an estimated 120 lead service lines in Aurora, affecting nearly 400 residents. Since 2018, the City has replaced 3,290 lead service lines throughout the community, with additional lines scheduled for replacement.
“This is a high priority for our administration,” Laesch said. “We are very grateful for this support, and it will help us continue to make great progress on our lead service line replacement program.”
At this time, the City replaces three percent of lead service lines annually, meeting requirements from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. These additional federal funds are set to amplify the City’s replacement program, contributing to higher water quality for affected residents.
“Congressman Foster and I have been working on this project together for well over a year now,” Congresswoman Lauren Underwood said. “As a nurse, I know that helping to leverage these federal dollars to get rid of these lead water pipes is important to making sure that we have clean, healthy, and safe drinking water. So, we’re really excited to be able to contribute to replacing these pipes.”
“The biggest thing that we can do, which Lauren and I have been working on, is to get all the money necessary to eliminate any danger and get the lead out of the pipes,” Congressman Foster added. “We are going to be back at this, every chance we get.”
For more information on the City’s lead service line replacement program, please visit https://yourvoice.aurora.il.us/leadnotice.
— City of Aurora government