All Those Hinsdale Teardowns Have A Benefit: Official

HINSDALE, IL – Many in Hinsdale are uncomfortable with the trend of tearing down houses, particularly those in the historic district.

But an official this week revealed that the practice benefits the village in one way – the replacement of lead pipes.

"Hinsdale is a little bit ahead of the game," Neale Byrnes, a Hinsdale trustee, said at Tuesday's Village Board meeting. "Due to our teardowns, the service lines to all those houses don't need to be replaced."

He added, "A town like La Grange has not had that many teardowns. They have a lot of work to do."

He is right about that. La Grange has reported that it needs to replace more than 3,500 lead lines. Western Springs has about 500 such pipes.

The state requires all lead lines be replaced by 2036. Hinsdale estimates that it will cost about $20,000 per home on average.

Under the village's plan, 30 lines will be replaced annually over the next decade.

Village officials said they have not decided on the cost share for affected residents.

Later this month, the Village Board is expected to vote on Burke Engineering as the engineer for the project, costing $168,000.