A $3.5 million loan from the state will allow Naperville to remove its remaining lead service lines by 2027, two years ahead of schedule.

If successful, Naperville will be among the first communities in Illinois to complete the state and federal mandates governing the removal of such pipes, according to the city’s director of water and wastewater.

“We were pretty excited,” Director Darrell Blenniss said about the loan. “We’re ready to go. We have our inventory completed. We know where all these lines are, and we’re ready to get moving.”

Last October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that drinking water systems must have all lead service lines going into residential properties replaced by 2037. Those lines have the potential to release harmful particles into water use

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