Illinois House committee approves plan improving drinking water quality

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A plan to enhance the quality of public drinking water is one step closer to becoming state law.

An Illinois House energy committee approved legislation Sunday afternoon to require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to conduct statewide sampling of certain community water supplies to assess the levels of dangerous chemicals.

Sponsors and advocates said the state should test and create action steps to address contaminants that should be regulated by the state.

"This is a start and stop. We do have concern about testing and looking at what might be in our water, and this is a first step," said Jen Walling, Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Council. "It's only about 1,4-Dioxane at this time."

The bill also calls on the EPA to annually convene a group of stakeholders to review chemicals likely to pose substantial health hazards to Illinoisans in order to propose and revise state law.

Senate Bill 727 passed out of the House Energy and Environment Committee on a 23-1 vote. The proposal now moves to the House floor for consideration.