Thanks to Lynn White, East Peoria Can Take Water for Granted
May 12, 2026 02:32PM ● By Scott Fishel
Thanks to Lynn White, East Peoria Can Take Water for Granted [2 Images]
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EDITOR’S NOTE: It takes many people to keep a community like East Peoria running smoothly. We think you should know who some of those people are and what they do. This is the first in a regular series we will publish about the people — some highly visible, others behind the scenes, most of them our neighbors and friends — who work hard every day to make this a great place to live. If you would like to suggest an individual for this series, call 309-681-4418 or email [email protected].
Without clean, safe, abundant water, business and industry would fail, schools would close, public health would be endangered, and life as we know it would grind to a halt. So, it’s a good thing that East Peoria has Lynn White at the helm of a municipal service that does everything possible every day to keep that scenario from ever happening.
Without clean, safe, abundant water, business and industry would fail, schools would close, public health would be endangered, and life as we know it would grind to a halt. So, it’s a good thing that East Peoria has Lynn White at the helm of a municipal service that does everything possible every day to keep that scenario from ever happening.
White is the Water Plant Operator for the City of East Peoria, a position she has held for nine years. She has lived and worked in East Peoria most of her life — 42 of those years she has worked for the city in different capacities. Keeping the municipal water supply safe and in compliance with a multitude of regulations is what occupies her time and attention these days.
East Peoria’s water system consists of 11 wells, four treatment plants, and 120 miles of underground water lines. It produces, treats, and distributes more than 2 million gallons of drinking water a day. White said the majority of the city’s water is filtered (depending on which well it is drawn from), and all of it is treated with fluoride, chlorine, and phosphates. Fluoride is added to strengthen teeth and promote dental health, chlorine kills harmful bacteria, and phosphates help prevent corrosion of lead pipes in older homes.
White said all East Peoria water comes from underground aquifers, so it needs less treatment than surface water sources like the Illinois River. The water system has 8,241 connections, including residential, business, and industrial customers.
“We often just think of water as what comes out of the tap,” White said. But she added that without good quality water, public health and health care would suffer, and everything from restaurants to manufacturers like Caterpillar would face tremendous challenges. That’s what makes water an indispensable part of every successful community.
Where water is concerned, East Peoria has some unique challenges. “We have many hills in East Peoria, which means we have many different pressure zones,” White said. “At times we have had to get creative with how we manage the pumping of the water. If a treatment plant goes down for whatever reason, we have to be able to still provide water to that portion of the city.”
She said there is redundancy built into the system, so water continues to flow to all parts of the city even when one of the treatment plants is out of order for repairs or maintenance. She said the most common reason for a loss of service is a water main break, an issue that becomes even more common as city infrastructure ages. Old water mains are replaced as budgets allow, but it is an ongoing process.
White works in the Public Works Department, which is responsible for water production and distribution. Production is the pumping, treating, and testing of water. That’s what she does. Distribution manages the crews that repair, maintain, and upgrade the system as needed. They are the city workers wearing yellow vests and hard hats, digging with a backhoe, and trying to disrupt traffic as little as possible.
“I have to give a shout out to the distribution crew,” White said. “When they repair a water main, they do everything they can to repair it live, which means without shutting the water off. They do a really good job of it.” A boil advisory must be issued if the water main pressure falls below a certain level.
Testing for chlorine, fluoride, and other residuals takes place daily. Additional tests measure bacteria levels and the amount of other chemicals and minerals in the water. To meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, samples are taken at 60 addresses twice a year and sent to a lab for an analysis. A Water Quality Report is issued annually and can be viewed on the city’s website.
“I think one of the biggest challenges for smaller communities is lack of funding and lack of personnel,” White said. “They may have one or two operators who are also responsible for streets and the sewer and snow removal, and all the things that a community needs from their public works department.” She said East Peoria is fortunate to generate enough revenue to have dedicated personnel for water production and distribution.
White’s career with the city began as a police dispatcher. She was then the administrative assistant for the supervisor of Public Works for about 20 years. She returned to college to earn a degree that would have qualified her to move into the supervisor role.
“And then, it just kind of took a different turn,” she said.
As an administrative assistant she learned about how the water system operates and took an interest in becoming a water operator. An EPA certification was needed for that job, so she passed a test and then volunteered her time working at the water plants while maintaining the full-time job in the supervisor’s office. When an opportunity arose, she moved right into the Water Plant Operator position.
“This was not originally on my radar,” she admitted. “But I’m so thankful that I was given the opportunity to step up because it’s a great job.”
About three years ago, White and her husband, Edward, adopted three children in a nearby community. They wanted to keep the kids in the community they already knew, so the Whites moved out of East Peoria.
But she confessed: “I wish there was a way I could live there now. I’m just an East Peoria girl through and through.” She went all through school and graduated from East Peoria High School. Later, she served on the school board for District 86 and has nothing but praise for all East Peoria schools.
“This town has so much to offer,” she said, citing schools, police and fire departments, parks and recreation opportunities, and Illinois Central College as great assets.
Check out the most recent Water Quality Report on the City of East Peoria website: www.cityofeastpeoria.com/291/Water-Department.