Mayor Daniel Biss attended a summit at the White House on lead pipe replacement Friday, according to a city press release.

At the summit, Vice Presdent Kamala Harris announced the “Get the Lead Out” partnership between the federal government, state governments, local communities, water utilities and other organizations to accelerate lead pipe service line replacement. Evanston is one of three Illinois municipalities in the partnership, along with the Village of Hazel Crest and City of Zion.

Evanston currently has more than 11,000 lead pipes as water service lines, which constitute about 77% of the water services. Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause severe developmental issues that span generations, Feinberg pediatrician Helen Binns said.

In December, Evanston received $1 million from the Illinois state government to replace lead pipes in south Evanston.

“Evanston has already taken several initial steps towards our goal of replacing all lead water services,” Biss said. “I look forward to building on this momentum with the support of our state and federal partners.”

The city plans to replace 160 lead service lines in 2023. The city will also implement a Lead Service Line Replace Pilot Project to replace private-side pipes — which are pipes connecting to resident’s homes — for about 150 households for free.

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