At a May 28 village council meeting, commissioners awarded IHC Construction the bid to replace a portion of the village’s lead service lines that deliver water to Forest Park residents.
But following a vote at the June 24 council meeting, the awarded bid was rescinded because the contractor didn’t follow advertising requirements outlined by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which will fund the pipe replacement project.
While the village has replaced more than 1,000 lead service lines over the last decade or so, there are still more than 2,000 that need to be replaced.
Forest Park’s lead pipe replacement project is comparable to similar efforts in other municipalities. But the massive undertaking isn’t necessarily of a village’s own volition.
In 2021, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill requiring Illinois to replace lead service lines. The bill aims to eliminate lead leaching into drinking water, which is especially harmful for children to ingest. Forest Park’s drinking water contains trace contaminants of lead, but is safe to drink.
To further reduce the amount of lead in drinking water, the village’s effort to replace lead service lines was meant to continue this summer. But that effort has seen a recent minor setback.
In May, the village received six bids for the project and awarded IHC Construction as the lowest responsible bidder at just more than $2.2 million. But the IEPA, which is giving the village a $2.35 million forgivable loan for the pipe replacement project, found that the contractor didn’t follow its advertising requirements.
The village rescinded IHC Construction’s bid award in order to still qualify for the IEPA’s forgivable loan, according to the agenda for the June 24 village council meeting.
Three commissioners and Mayor Rory Hoskins voted to rescind the awarded bid. Commissioner Ryan Nero was absent from the meeting.
Rescinding the awarded bill will impact the timeline of the project, which was originally estimated to be completed by the end of November.
The IEPA loan is still approved. The village is rejecting the other five bids it previously received and will advertise for bids again.
Once a new bid is approved, the contractor will replace lead service lines with copper ones. The new copper pipes will run from the Buffalo Box valve at the parkway to 18 inches inside residences and buildings.
The pipe replacements will take place between the 1000 and 1100 blocks of Harlem Avenue, 7200 and 7300 blocks of Roosevelt Road, 800 and 1200 blocks of Elgin Avenue, 800 and 1200 blocks of Circle Avenue, and the 1200 block of Marengo Avenue.
