Oakview resident alleges improper water-main work, says petitions underway for deannexation

Susan Sorel, a resident who identified herself during public comment at the Village of Lisle Committee of the Whole on July 21, said privately installed water mains running in the village right-of-way may have been installed without village final inspection and that she has begun collecting signatures for a deannexation petition. Sorel said ownership of the right-of-way means the village’s public-works department is generally responsible for inspection and ensuring work within the right-of-way meets standards, and she said Illinois American Water installed a main in front of homes that was connected via service lines and bypassed expected meter and B-box configurations. “You cannot put a bigger pipe into a smaller pipe without an interconnect,” she told the board, calling the installation illegal and saying inspectors should have verified a continuous mainline from the b-box to the meter. Sorel said she had contacted the Illinois EPA (referred in the transcript) and that agency staff had referred her to another department. She also told the board she is collecting signatures for deannexation and had about 30 signatures at the time of the meeting. The nut graf: Sorel’s statements were presented as resident allegations at the meeting; the village did not take formal enforcement action during the session and did not confirm the technical or fiscal claims she raised. Sorel also asserted that $2,000,000 was removed from the village water fund and used to extend water main into the Village of Lyle; she attributed this to her review of budget documents. She said the configuration of service lines included transitions from 1-inch to 5/8-inch piping and multiple b-boxes that were not removed, which she said could create future maintenance or ownership issues. She also criticized the village for employing engineers to inspect a new development while she said final inspections had not been performed for the lines serving Oakview residents. Mayor Mullin acknowledged the public comment period and the right to raise concerns but did not announce any immediate village action in response. Sorel said she would return with more petition signatures. Ending: Sorel’s allegations were recorded in the public-comment record; the village did not announce inspections or enforcement during the meeting. Residents who presented technical claims were advised to provide documentation to staff for follow-up.