In 2026, Bartlett's routine tap-water sampling came back over EPA's lead action level, and the Village sent every household a formal drinking-water notice. The lead is not in the water supply itself — it's dissolving out of the pipes in a small number of older homes. Here's what the Village found, how to check your own home, and what to do next. Every fact on this page comes from the Village of Bartlett or the EPA.
Between January and June 2026, the Village of Bartlett collected 60 lead samples from taps in homes around the community — the routine monitoring federal and state rules require. More than 10 percent of the samples came back above EPA's action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb), which makes it a formal "action level exceedance." The Village distributed its Lead Action Level Exceedance Notice on July 13, 2026, followed it with an August 2026 press release, and says it has notified the residents known to be impacted directly.
For context: in the previous sampling round the Village published — 2023 results in its annual Water Quality Report — Bartlett's 90th-percentile lead level was 7.35 ppb, under the action level, with 1 sampled home above 15 ppb and no violation recorded. The 2026 round is a step in the wrong direction, and it's why the Village is now required to act.
The households whose samples ran high were the ones with lead service lines or lead solder — the Village met with those customers and provided them pitcher filters. Results are specific to each home: a high result at one house does not describe the house next door.
The action level is widely misunderstood, so here is the Village's own framing: the 15 ppb action level is a measure of how well the water system's corrosion control is working — it is not a standard for whether the water in a particular home is safe. EPA requires systems to test at taps in homes most likely to have lead plumbing, including homes with lead service lines. If more than 10 percent of those samples exceed 15 ppb, the system must take specific actions: public education, a corrosion-control review, increased monitoring, and lead service line replacement.
So the exceedance is a system-level trigger for corrective work — not a finding that every Bartlett tap is over 15 ppb, and not, by itself, a measurement of your home. Your home's answer depends on your own pipes, which is why the check below matters more than the headline.
Bartlett buys its water from the DuPage Water Commission, which buys it from the City of Chicago — it's Lake Michigan water, treated with corrosion control chemistry meant to keep metals from dissolving out of pipes. The Village states plainly: there is no lead in the water being supplied. Elevated results come from lead already inside the path to your faucet:
Lead dissolves most when water has been sitting in contact with those materials for hours — the first water out of the tap in the morning, or after a workday away, carries the most. And the overall scale in Bartlett is small: the Village has roughly 13,500 service lines, and its community-wide inventory (reported November 2024) found fewer than 100 lead service lines. Most Bartlett homes were never in the risk pool — but "most" isn't "yours," so check.
Three ways, in order of effort:
Just moved in? Add "check my service line material" to your first-week list — our moving to Bartlett guide covers the rest of the new-resident setup.
Call Bartlett Public Works at 630-837-0811 to have your water tested and to learn more about lead levels in your drinking water — that's the route the Village's notice gives residents. If the Village sampled your home as part of a monitoring round, your result is specific to your home and is shared with you directly; it may differ from results at other addresses.
For children, the test that matters most is a blood lead test, which a family doctor or pediatrician can perform. The CDC recommends that public health actions begin when a child's blood lead level is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or more. County and state health departments can also advise on testing.
Filtering works — but only with a filter certified for lead removal, installed and maintained exactly as directed. Replace cartridges on schedule; an expired cartridge removes lead poorly. Never run hot water through the filter.
Lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Always draw cold tap water for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula — then heat it if you need it hot.
Boiling does not remove lead from water. It's the most common misconception the Village and EPA both call out — use the filter-and-flush steps instead.
The longer water sits in your plumbing, the more lead it can pick up. Before drinking, flush the line by running the tap, showering, doing laundry, or running a load of dishes. How long to flush depends on your service line — call 630-837-0811 for a recommendation for your home. The Village's drinking-water page suggests running the kitchen tap at least 3 minutes, until the water turns cold or reaches a steady temperature.
Regularly remove and clean the small screen at the tip of each faucet. Sediment, debris, and lead particles collect there — and particles caught in the aerator can get into your water.
Confirm your service line material in the Village inventory (step one of the section above). Construction or maintenance work can disturb a lead service line and temporarily release more lead, so ask Public Works about work planned near your home.
If you're in a pre-1986 home, have young children or a baby on the way, or simply don't know your pipe material, a test turns worry into a number. Call Public Works at 630-837-0811 to arrange one.
Per the Village's notice: lead exposure can cause serious health effects in all age groups, and the greatest risk is to pregnant women, infants, and young children. In children, lead exposure is linked to decreased IQ and attention span and to learning and behavior problems; children of women exposed before or during pregnancy face increased risk of the same effects. Formula-fed infants are at particular risk because of the large volume of water they consume relative to their body size. In adults, lead exposure raises risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney and nervous-system problems.
Drinking water is also only one possible source — lead-based paint, contaminated dust and soil are the primary sources for most children, as the Village's drinking-water page notes. If your child hasn't had a blood lead test and your home is older, ask your pediatrician about one (CDC reference level: 3.5 µg/dL).
Bartlett's source water — Lake Michigan water bought through the DuPage Water Commission — contains no lead, according to the Village. The 2026 exceedance came from lead dissolving out of certain homes' own plumbing: lead service lines and lead solder. That makes the risk house-by-house, not village-wide. If your home has a lead service line or older solder, follow the Village's steps (filter, flush, cold water only) and get your water tested; if it doesn't, the notice's concern is aimed elsewhere. The honest answer for any specific home comes from checking your service line material and, if you're unsure, a water test.
Start with the Village of Bartlett's Water Service Line Material Inventory page, which records the material of the pipe connecting each home to the water main. You can also call Bartlett Public Works at 630-837-0811 and ask, or have a licensed plumber identify the pipe where it enters your home. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures, and solder, according to the Village.
No. Boiling does not remove lead from water — the Village's notice and the EPA both say so. Use cold tap water for drinking, cooking, and baby formula, and if you filter, filter the cold water first and heat it afterward.
Only if the filter is certified to remove or reduce lead — not every pitcher or faucet filter is. Check the packaging for a lead-reduction certification claim, follow the manufacturer's cartridge replacement schedule (an expired cartridge works poorly), and never run hot water through it. The Village provided pitcher filters to customers whose sampled water exceeded the action level and is making them available to customers with a known lead service line that exceeded the limit.
Call Bartlett Public Works at 630-837-0811 to have your water tested and to ask about lead levels in your drinking water. If the Village sampled your home during a monitoring round, your results are specific to your home and are shared with you directly. For children, a pediatrician or family doctor can run a blood lead test; the CDC recommends action when a child's blood lead level reaches 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.
The Village says it is removing its remaining lead service lines and hopes to have them all completed by the end of 2026. In its August 2026 update, the Village said only 12 lead services remained. Its community-wide inventory, reported in November 2024, had found fewer than 100 lead service lines out of roughly 13,500 service lines in total.
Related Bartlett Guide pages: plumbers in Bartlett (service-line work and license checks) · moving to Bartlett · why Bartlett water bills run high.
One email every Thursday morning with the weekend's events in Bartlett, South Elgin, and Streamwood. Pick your areas below — unsubscribe anytime with one click.