Highland Park mayor outlines water-main replacements, timelines and resident notifications
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Summary
Mayor Mara McDonald described ongoing water-main and lead-pipe replacement work, said crews are connecting house lines now, that restoration of streets is expected to begin around May and wrap by June, and that notifications were moved to two days to give residents time to prepare.
Mayor Mara McDonald acknowledged the inconvenience residents are experiencing from street closures, fluctuating water pressure and occasional outages while the city replaces century-old pipes. “These pipes are a 100 years old...Some of them was wood when they first started doing this process,” McDonald said, explaining why full replacement and new house connections are necessary.
McDonald said the projects are funded through state-managed programs tied to federal infrastructure funding and that the city has been working under state direction. She described the current work as crews finishing connections in the southeast quadrant, with restoration to follow. “I was told beginning, like, almost close to the May, they'll start the restoration, and they should be wrapped up by June,” McDonald said, adding that new sidewalks and grass will follow restorations.
On resident warnings and communications, McDonald said the city moved from same-day notices to two-day notifications so residents can prepare for shutoffs or pressure changes, and asked people to report visible leaks so the water department can respond quickly. She also urged patience, noting the work aims to make water lead-free and restore long-degraded infrastructure.
