"Why Can't We Work Together?" A Realistic Perspective From A Water Advocate
Why We Need To Replace Lead Pipes, Update Antiquated Infrastructure & Tell The Truth About Water Testing
If you have been reading this newsletter for awhile, you might remember Jennifer Campbell’s story, who we featured back in 2021.
Today, we are publishing an update from her and that community.
Final Post
My name is Jennifer Campbell.
I am a wife, a mother, and a maternal/newborn nurse. I am a Sycamore High School graduate. From June 23, 2020, until February 20, 2024, I was a community advocate for my hometown of Sycamore, Illinois. Because of the good memories I have growing up in Sycamore, it was important to me that we raise our children there. For 17 years, we lived in a small, but cozy home on Edward Street. During the summer of 2021, our family moved to North Carolina.
When we began this journey four years ago, our family decided that I would be the only one to publicly represent us. Together, we have decided this will be my last post in any social media platform regarding the water contamination and the South Avenue hazardous waste site in Sycamore, Illinois. There is nothing more I can say without repeating what has already been stated.
During the summer of 2020, our family went door to door to ask our neighbors if they were experiencing the same disgusting, unusable water at their taps as we were. We had no idea what would transpire over the next four years. Despite social distancing and already uncertain and stressful times, Sycamore residents came together via Zoom to express their water concerns at city council meetings.
Imagine if the city’s response was “let’s work together to figure out what’s going on.” Instead, deflection and blame were placed on plumbing and fixtures at residences. Residents were asked to believe a ridiculous number of homes in certain parts of the city had “bad water heaters.” We were asked to believe these homes also had the “bad water fixtures” that caused dozens of high lead levels at Sycamore residences. These test results were obtained before the city spent two years flushing fire hydrants, and before they replaced the lead service lines at these locations.
I never thought being a community advocate would be part of my life’s story. When I created the Citizens for Clean Water Group, I thought it would be a few neighbors discussing the issues we were experiencing with the city water. Because of all of you, what I thought would be a group of a few people has turned into these amazing efforts. The group will remain active until it is no longer needed.
When I think of the silver linings throughout these challenging four years, I am reminded of the incredible people who I had the privilege to work with; people I would have never met if it weren’t for the water issues. I am humbled to witness the number of people who have come together for this cause.
My sincere appreciation goes out to those of you who realized the significance of this information and took the time to share it with others, in whatever way you felt comfortable. I am grateful for the legal team who represented Sycamore residents, not for monetary gain, but because it was the right thing to do. I am grateful for the environmental/water experts from various parts of the country, who helped us understand the importance of NSF 42 & 53 Certified filtration and the significance of filtering water before boiling. With their guidance, we were also informed of the increased risk of exposure to sporadically high levels of lead during and for months following road construction where there is potential disruption of pipes.
I never imagined a lawsuit would be filed and settled or that during the process we would prove through the court-ordered testing, that city’s manipulate testing locations to provide passing results. This is well known and condoned by the regulating A~g e-n-cy. A simple review of the 2022 and 2023 court ordered chlorine residual results and a quick glance at the dozens of pictures residents have posted to the water group, it is obvious the city of Sycamore’s water testing practices do not accurately represent all areas of the city.
People have asked what led me to uncover the ha-Zar-D0us waste site on South Avenue. The April 19, 2021, Sycamore city council meeting minutes described the hundreds of barrels of “potentially” hazardous materials brought to a building on South Avenue during the 1980’s and 1990’s. I couldn’t comprehend the connection to these barrels in the building, and the six city blocks worth of contaminated soil that was removed from the same area in 2020.
We lived five houses from this location. Someone would have seen something, yet no one seemed to know about it. Because of the city’s lack of transparency with the water issues, I questioned their statement, “if not addressed, these conditions may have posed a threat to the community.” I wanted to know if there may have been a connection between the contents in those barrels and the sewage and oil smell that permeated our home anytime we used water during the summer of 2020. I wanted to find out if the contaminated soil may have compromised the integrity, eroding the exterior of the 120-year-old pipes, and contributed to the breakdown of lead solder connections, thus contaminating the water that flowed downhill to our family’s home.
We couldn’t understand why our home, which was updated to a copper service and all CPVC piping after we moved in, had much higher lead results than our neighbors who had lead service lines. I wondered if there was a correlation to being downhill from this site and at the end of the water main because the creek intersected our property.
I reviewed the files and learned the contaminant in those barrels was black sand that contained high concentrations of heavy metals. The A`gen`cy and the city were aware that toxic waste, enough to cover six city blocks, was dumped outside and sat for years exposed to wind, rain, and human movement before the partial clean up. I was already aware of the devastation of lead in water.
As I researched, I realized lead in soil and dust never decomposes. I thought about the water main in front of our previous home, and believe it is likely connected to the ones nestled under all that contaminated soil. I remembered how we made sure to water down the juice for our children to cut sugar. I thought about all the meals we prepared, and pots of coffee we consumed using the city water. I recalled the endless hours we spent gardening and tending to flowers along the creek, where we believed was the ideal place for our children to play on their swing-set/sandbox and spend their days searching for frogs and tadpoles.
I was devastated. I already knew about the water contamination, but the new realization that every aspect of our home, the one place we believed our family was safe, likely contributed to so much harm, was more than I could comprehend. It made me physically ill.
From the day the legal team began consulting with the environmental engineers, their focus was not the lead service lines, but rather the decades of negligence and deterioration of Sycamore’s water distribution system, specifically the original city water mains. Ironically, the replacement of one city main may have prevented this entire story from taking place at all.
During the summer of 2019, Edward Street was excavated to replace storm drains, sidewalks, curbs, and driveway aprons. We and our neighbors had a view of that water main in front of our home for months. Instead of replacing that 120-year-old main, the decision was made to cover it back up with shiny asphalt.
I wonder if the city believes this decision, rather than their lack of transparency, was their biggest mistake. The “burnt toast theory” suggests that life’s inconveniences might actually be serving a purpose or protecting us from something. As horrible as it was to have our concerns so blatantly and purposefully dismissed by the city back in 2020, I believe their decision to leave that water main on Edward served its purpose by exposing multiple truths.
So, what now? Each of the 59, 2022 and 2023 court-ordered chlorine residual results that did not meet the minimum required by state law, were obtained in areas of the city that have the original 4- and 6-inch water mains, leaving those residents vulnerable to infections and potentially dangerous pathogens.
Furthermore, residential tests obtained during the summer/fall 2020 that resulted in high levels of lead coincide with many of the areas determined to have inadequate chlorine residual. We also know in areas with inadequate chlorine residual, bacterial growth can contribute to more corrosion thus decreasing the effectiveness of the city’s corrosion control efforts, leaving those residents vulnerable to more lead exposure.
The only resolution is expediting the replacement of the water mains that have exceeded their service life. There are dozens of grants available to replace these old mains. For the city to apply for them, their test results must show Sycamore needs financial assistance.
While residents look forward to the warm weather approaching, many of them unfortunately anticipate the return of their water issues. This year, when residents see the yellow, brown, black, and gelatinous water flowing from their tap, or experience the unforgettable repulsive odor that permeates their home, I hope they will pursue water testing practices that truthfully reflect all areas of the city so Sycamore can apply for and obtain the water main replacement grants that are needed, and the residents of Sycamore deserve.
We couldn’t help but think of Jennifer’s story as Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach hemmed and hawed about new lead pipe rules on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this week.
Kobach is part of a 15-state coalition of state attorneys general demanding that the EPA drop a potential rule that would ultimately require the replacement of more than 9 million lead pipes, stating that the rule “sets an almost impossible timeline, will cost billions, infringe on the rights of the States and their residents—all for benefits that may be entirely speculative.”
The other attorney generals in the coalition hail from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, in case you want to write to them…
With all due respect to these elected officials, lead is a highly toxic heavy metal and known neurotoxin. There is no safe level of lead exposure for humans. Any detectable lead level is abnormal and potentially very harmful. It impacts virtually every organ system, and particularly the central nervous system and the developing brain. Children are at a greater risk than adults of suffering from the neurotoxic effects of lead. Some of the most common sources of lead exposure in the U.S. are lead-based paint in older homes, contaminated soil, household dust, and drinking water.
“Taking out these toxic water pipes is a once-and-done solution that is among the simplest steps city leaders can take to help all residents have safer drinking water,” wrote Katie Rosenberg, mayor of Wausau, Wisconsin, in an Op-Ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Her community has the challenge of replacing about 8,000 lead service lines from in a city of 40,000 residents. Like most other cities and utilities across the country, they have looked to the homeowner to pay for all or part of the cost, but many of the communities where lead remains most prevalent are those that are disadvantaged and don’t have the means to do so.
A 2021 study in JAMA Pediatrics found substantial individual- and community-level disparities and that children growing up in lower income communities are nearly 2.5 times as likely to have elevated blood lead levels compared with those in low-poverty areas.
Yes, the mandate is underfunded. The 2021 infrastructure bill allocated $15 billion to replace these lines, while the EPA estimates the true cost could be up to $60 billion. But we have to start somewhere. We need grants and other funding that can help homeowners replace lead pipes within their homes.
We know it can be done. Newark, New Jersey, replaced more than 23,000 lead water lines via a three-year, $170-million program that commenced in 2019—at no direct cost to homeowners.
As for timing, the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements proposal requires almost every state to replace their lead service lines within 10 years. But there’s an exception to the rule. Chicago, the city with the most lead service lines in the nation, can take advantage of provisions in the rule allowing for extensions, so it could take 40 or 50 years to replace its lead pipes. Illinois has the second most lead service lines in the country; Florida has the most.
In addition, we must toughen rules on enforcement and reporting. It’s been a widespread problem for years. Jennifer talks about it in her letter above and her community is not alone. Practices of pre-flushing lines or cherry picking which homes get tested have only further harmed communities. The local utility in Washington D.C. hid water testing results from the EPA, making the city appear to be in compliance when it was not, during what turned out to be a huge lead-in-water crisis.
Look no further than the ongoing water issues in Jackson, Mississippi, or the unfolding water crisis in Mexico City to see that if we don’t start investing in future upgrades to our drinking water systems, parts of this country could face a version of Day Zero. An ominous-sounding name often used to describe when a city will run entirely out of water.
This is a public health crisis. The benefits of investing in our water infrastructure and replacing lead service lines are not speculative. They are deeply needed and long overdue.
It’s time for local leaders and politicians to step up. Who are the ones willing to acknowledge these very real water issues and work with communities? And who want to keep their heads in the toxic sand?
Keep the conversation going in the comments below. Let us know what you think!