Homeowners in Riverside who wish to replace the leaded water service line that connects their home to the public water main ahead of the village’s schedule can now be reimbursed for the cost of the public portion of the line, up to a cap.
Village trustees on Feb. 5 approved a resolution authorizing the reimbursements. For properties where the water main is located on the same side of the street, homeowners can receive up to $5,000; for those on the other side of the street from the water main, the cap is $7,500.
While Riverside has been issued at least $4 million for the replacements and applied for $12 million more, all in the form of zero-interest loans from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, that money cannot be used to reimburse residents for their early line replacements, according to village documents.
Instead, reimbursements will come from Riverside’s water and sewer fund’s allocation for emergency repairs, which is worth around $178,000.
According to a memo from the meeting, the move will save Riverside money in the long-term while decreasing the risk of exposing residents to “the risk of elevated lead levels” that arises when a leaded service line is only partially replaced.
Residents who wish to seek early replacement and reimbursement will have to pay the full cost of the project upfront and later be reimbursed the applicable amount by the village.
Trustees did not discuss the resolution at their Feb. 5 meeting, as it was approved as part of the consent agenda, though they were supportive when it was first discussed at their Jan. 15 committee of the whole meeting, according to the memo.
Riverside’s project to replace lead service lines in town stems from the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and mandated that municipalities are responsible for replacing those leaded service lines. Riverside began regularly replacing its lines in 2025, two years ahead of schedule, after replacing them in case of emergencies since 2022. The act says all municipalities in Illinois must replace at least 6% of leaded lines each year starting in 2027 in order to have fully replaced them by 2044.
