Elgin resident Bill Briska usually lets the water in his faucet run for several minutes before using it.
He believes that allows him to use the cleaner water that has not been sitting in lead pipes for a while.
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Last year, the city tested the water and found his water to be above the acceptable level for lead.
“Lead is not good, that’s for sure. And it is 2.5 times over the actionable limit. So yes, it is of concern,” Briska said.
Briska’s home is one of many in Elgin more than 100 years old, and most have lead water pipes as well. That’s why the city is hosting this informational meeting on Tuesday, offering water filtration systems to homeowners with homes built before 1986.
In the meantime, Elgin has already begun a program to replace the lead pipes from the service lines in homes, which are not owned by the city, but are where the lead can get into a home’s water supply.
“We don’t have lead in our water,” said Elgin Water Director Nora Bertram. “Lead comes from corrosion of plumbing materials, which is house-specific.”