Chicago has no plan to reduce lead removal charges
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Chicago pays twice to three times as much as nearby suburbs to remove lead water lines, and after a month of questions, officials have not identified to Axios any concrete plans to reduce those charges.
Why it matters: At Chicago's current rate — $33,784 per line — the city will pay $12 billion to replace its 400,000 toxic lines over the next two decades, and taxpayers will shoulder much of the cost.
Context: Most Chicago homes smaller than a four-flat built before 1986 use lead lines because city code, influenced by the Chicago Plumbers Union, required it.
- One third of all Chicago homes voluntarily tested showed high levels of brain-damaging lead in their water, according to an Axios analysis.
- There is no safe level of ingested lead, health authorities warn.
State of play: In recent weeks, Axios has repeatedly asked Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Water Management (DWM) to explain why the city accepts these highest-in-the-nation (according to a WBEZ analysis) charges and what they're doing to reduce them.
The answers: A mayoral aide referred to a new state law that streamlines permissions needed to work on the private side of the water line, potentially reducing future costs but not explaining why other Illinois towns are already removing lines for one-third of the price Chicago pays.
- Johnson also repeatedly told Axios he is seeking more outside funding for removals, but that does not address the high charges Chicago is accepting.
By the numbers: The average whole-block per-line cost Chicago has been paying equals three times what Elgin ($10,950) and New York pay and twice what Evanston ($15,000) pays. In Chicago, the costs are:
- $39,367 for leak- or break-driven replacements
- $33,784 per line on entire blocks
- $21,765 with water main or sewer work
- $29,825 at a single day care
- $28,332 for single "equity" replacements at homes
The intrigue: Most cities report saving thousands per line on whole-block replacements over one-off jobs, but Chicago's figures show just the opposite. Why?
- DWM spokesperson Megan Vidis told Axios we would have to file FOIA requests in order to see detailed side-by-side cost comparisons. So we did.
What they're saying: Vidis told Axios the department is "reviewing other [removal] programs nationally to identify efficiencies in operations," but she did not say what lessons DWM had learned and might actually apply.
What we're watching: How a city that has removed just 15,496 lines in five years will be able to comply with a federal law that will require Chicago to start removing 20,000 lines a year at an annual cost of $675 million next year.