Lake County Gazette

New pipes are coming to the village of Barrington to improve drinking water quality and remove lead contamination, according to a recent Facebook post by Illinois state Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills). The funding was announced on Jun 23.

"Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim today announced $4 million in funding to the Village of Barrington (Cook and Lake Counties) to replace lead service lines in the community," McLaughlin said in the post. "The funding is provided through the Illinois EPA's State Revolving Fund (SRF), which provides low-interest loan funding for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. I am pleased that this major community within the 52nd District will receive important assistance in supplying our residents with safe drinking water."

Two years ago, Barrington was searching for funding to replace outdated lead service water lines for more than 1,000 homes, a July 2021 Chicago Tribune report said.

"The village of Barrington does not have a lead in the water problem," Jeremie Lukowicz, Public Works director, said in the Tribune report. "We are doing this proactively, not reactively." He noted that the village treats the supply water with polyphosphates to help keep lead from leaching into the water from the service lines.

McLaughlin's website shared the official news release from the Illinois Department of Transportation on the state funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Barrington's lead service line replacement project. The principal-forgiveness loan is coming from the EPA's State Revolving Fund.

"Through the required Service Line Material Inventory Report, the Village of Barrington has identified at least 327 lead service lines and will be using these funds to begin replacing lead service lines and provide additional protection to their customers," John Kim, Illinois EPA director, said in the release. "The Illinois EPA is proud to partner with the Village by providing essential funding." 

In a recent article about the funding, Chicago Construction News reported that "since 2017, the Illinois EPA has provided Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) principal forgiveness for projects directly related to activities that reduce or eliminate lead from potable water." To date, the agency has provided $117.4 million for LSLR projects. The maximum principal forgiveness is up to $4 million.

Principal forgiveness is an additional subsidy that allows the borrower to repay a portion of loan principal, according to Law Insider. In this case, it means that the Village will not have to repay $4 million of funding for the projects.

McLaughlin was first elected to the Illinois House in 2020, the General Assembly website said. His legislative experience includes serving on the Revenue & Finance and Prescription Drug Affordability committees. He resides in Barrington Hills.