The Village of Northbrook found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in some homes. The Village may also have tested your home or building. If we did, you should receive or may have already received these results. These results are specific to your home and may be different from the results taken in other locations. Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Please read this information closely to see what you can do to reduce lead in your drinking water.
What is an Action Level?
The lead action level is a measure of the effectiveness of corrosion control treatment in water systems. The action level is not a standard for establishing a safe level of lead in a home. To check if corrosion control is working, EPA requires water systems to test for lead at the tap in certain homes, including those with lead service lines. Systems compare sample results from homes to EPA’s action level of 0.015 mg/L (15 ppb). If 10 percent of the samples from these homes have water concentrations that are greater than the action level, then the system must perform actions such as public education, adjusting treatment, and lead service line replacement.
What Happened?
The United States and Illinois Environmental Protection Agencies (USEPA and IEPA) have established lead/copper testing requirements for all water systems under their jurisdictions with new sampling protocols and acceptable limits. The Village sources its water directly from Lake Michigan and the source water has not been found to contain lead. If found in a home’s or business’s water, the likely source of lead is from lead service lines serving the property or internal plumbing/older plumbing fixtures. If your home is serviced by a non-lead service line, this notice is informational and there is no action you need to take at this time.
Between January 2025 and June 2025, the Village obtained 60 water samples from properties known to have lead service lines and analyzed them for lead levels in a certified laboratory. These samples were collected using the new sampling method prescribed by the IEPA and EPA. The result was that 7 of these 60 samples exceeded the action level for lead, which exceeds the lead action level.
The Village of Northbrook is focused on protecting the health of every household in our community; however, lead from service lines and lead plumbing and fixtures can dissolve or break off into water and end up at the faucet. The Village does not have lead water mains in its system and treats its water with a safe anti-corrosive chemical to minimize the risk of lead services. As a precaution, you should understand how to reduce your exposure to lead through water. Keep in mind that drinking water is not the only potential source of lead exposure, since lead can be found in air, soil, and paint.
For more information on all sources of lead, visit https://www.epa.gov/lead.
Lead Action Level Exceedance Notice — Health Effects of Lead
Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups.
Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span.
Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems.
The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects.
Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems.
Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Exposure to Lead in Your Water
Below are recommended actions that you may take, separately or in combination, if you are concerned about lead in your drinking water.
Use your filter properly. Using a filter can reduce lead in drinking water. If you use a filter, it should be certified to remove lead. Read directions to install, maintain, and replace cartridges properly. Do not run hot water through the filter. Learn more here.
Clean your aerator. Regularly remove and clean your faucet’s screen (aerator). Sediment, debris, and lead particles can collect there.
Use cold water. Do not use hot water from the tap for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula as lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Boiling water does not remove lead.
Run your water. If water has been sitting in your pipes, flush by running the tap, taking a shower, or doing laundry. Contact 847-272-4711 or joseph.rizzo@northbrook.il.us for recommendations about flushing times.
Learn your service line material. Contact 847-272-4711, joseph.rizzo@northbrook.il.us, or a licensed plumber to determine if your home’s service line contains lead. Learn about replacement plans at www.northbrook.il.us.
Get Your Child Tested to Determine Lead Levels in Their Blood
A family doctor or pediatrician can perform a blood test for lead and provide information about the health effects of lead. State, city, or county departments of health can also provide information about how you can have your child's blood tested for lead. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that public health actions be initiated when the level of lead in a child’s blood is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or more. For more information and links to CDC’s website, visit https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water.
What is Being Done?
The actions being taken by the Village of Northbrook are listed below:
The Village has completed a survey of properties in Northbrook and found that approximately 290 of the roughly 12,500 water customers have a lead service line in whole or in part. The results of the Village’s survey are available here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/1dbdb00ae7474d25a9c14342064f9462.
Actively replacing the Village-owned portion of lead service lines as part of road construction, resurfacing projects, or emergency water break repairs affecting lead service lines.
Implemented a 50/50 cost-share lead service line replacement program that meets legislation requirements. Details and the Service Line inventory are at https://www.northbrook.il.us/1118/Lead-Service-Line-Replacement.
Requires full replacement of all lead lines on properties undergoing substantial remodeling or demolition.
In addition to the above, we will provide residents with the locations we sampled and follow up with additional public education to all customers by September 14, 2025.
The Village of Northbrook treats its water with safe anti-corrosive additives (poly orthophosphate) to reduce the possibility of lead from service lines or internal plumbing dissolving into water. Poly-orthophosphate reacts with lead, copper, calcium, and magnesium to form a coating on pipe walls, which greatly limits dissolution of lead and copper into water.
We are removing lead service lines, a common source of lead in drinking water. The Village has already begun replacing lead service lines through its Lead Service Line Replacement Cost Share Program and intends to replace all lead service lines by 2042. With the exceedance of the lead action level, the Village will also work with property owners to replace approximately 3% of the lead service lines (8–9 properties) in the community each year for the next two years.
We will also take the following steps:
Conduct additional lead and/or water quality monitoring of our water system supply as required by the EPA, increasing samples from 30 to 60 for properties with known lead service lines.
Allow property owners, regardless of service line material, to have their water tested through the Village at their expense. Contact Public Works at 847-272-4711.
Provide pitcher filters to customers with a lead service line. Contact Public Works at 847-272-4711.
For more information, please contact The Village of Northbrook’s Public Works Department at 847-272-4711 or 655 Huehl Road, Northbrook, IL 60062. General guidelines to lessen risk from lead in drinking water are available from EPA’s website: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
This notice is being sent to you by Village of Northbrook
State Public Water System (PWS) ID#: IL0312070
Date distributed: July 15, 2025