News Releases - 2003

Lockport Approved For $5.8 Million Loan To Upgrade Water System, Reduce Radium Levels

Springfield, Ill. -- Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano today announced that a low-interest loan in the amount of $5.8 million has been approved for Lockport, in Will County, for steps to reduce radium levels in its water supply.

The loan will allow the community to upgrade its current water main system, and take steps to remedy an ongoing problem with excessive amounts of naturally occurring radium in the groundwater that supplies Lockport with drinking water. The loan will come from the IEPA’s revolving loan program that utilizes federal and state dollars to enable community water supplies to come into, and stay in, compliance with safe drinking water requirements.

“Financial assistance like this is critical to communities seeking fiscally viable ways to offer their residents the basic necessity of clean and safe drinking water,” Director Cipriano said in announcing the loan.

Funding for the program comes from federal dollars, with Illinois providing a matching contribution. The current Presidential budget proposed $1.7 billion jointly for the drinking water and wastewater state revolving loan programs; a resolution that has passed in the U.S. Senate would add $3.5 billion to that amount, and provide $3.2 billion for wastewater and $2 billion for drinking water loans. Loan repayments are channeled back into the loan fund for re-distribution to other applicants.

“As federal regulations lower the amounts of potential contaminants that are acceptable in drinking water, many community water supplies are finding it increasingly difficult to find the money to keep their water supplies in compliance,” said Director Cipriano. “This kind of program is steadily becoming more crucial and I commend the Senate for increasing these funds. Under the President’s budget, Illinois would potentially loose $20 million in drinking water loan funds,” Director Cipriano added.

Community water supplies with naturally occurring levels of radium that exceed federal standards published in December 2000 have a deadline of December 8, 2003, to come into compliance with the federal standards. Long-term consumption of drinking water with excessive radium levels has been linked to health problems.

The Lockport project includes decommissioning deep wells contaminated with naturally occurring radium, and replacing them with new shallow wells that do not have the problem, as well as building a new elevated storage tank, construction of a new arterial water main, and other system upgrades.