Evanston, Illinois is racing to pull thousands of toxic lead pipes out of the ground before a 2034 federal deadline, bundling the work with long-overdue sewer upgrades and street repairs into what will be one of the city's largest infrastructure projects in years.

The work targets neighborhoods across the city of 75,000, replacing both the public water mains feeding homes and the private lead service lines that connect houses to the street. It's part of a broader effort to comply with the EPA's 2024 mandate requiring all U.S. water systems to eliminate lead pipes within 10 years.

Illinois has more lead service lines than any other state, an estimated 680,000, many concentrated in older suburbs like Evanston where housing stock dates to the early 1900s. The city has been chipping away at the problem since 2020, but federal funding from the 2021 infrastructure law and the looming EPA deadline have accelerated the timeline.

The project includes installing new 6- to 12-inch ductile iron water mains, upgrading 8- to 18-inch combined sewer lines that currently handle both stormwater and sewage, and resurfacing streets torn up during the work. Contractors will replace lead pipes on both public property and private land, a critical detail since contamination can occur anywhere along the line from street to faucet.

Evanston runs its own water system, unlike some neighboring suburbs that buy from Chicago, giving it direct control but also full financial responsibility. The city has prioritized infrastructure spending for over a decade, though equity questions linger about whether historically Black neighborhoods on the west side get the same attention as wealthier areas.

Contractor bids are due this spring, with construction expected to begin by summer. The city must move quickly: federal infrastructure dollars have deadlines, and the 2034 lead pipe mandate doesn't extend.