Plumber in Gurnee, Illinois
The Des Plaines River runs through Gurnee, and most of the village went up in one twenty year building boom. Those two facts explain most of the plumbing here.
A plumber in Gurnee deals with two things no neighboring town has in the same mix: a river holding the record flood, and a town built all at once.
The Des Plaines River gauge at Gurnee crested at 12.09 feet in July 2017, beating the old record of 11.95 feet from September 1986. About 100 homes and 16 businesses flooded, and the governor declared a disaster. The gauge calls 9 feet moderate flooding, and it passed that again in 2018, 2019 and twice in 2020.
The other fact is the calendar. Gurnee had 7,179 residents in 1980 and 28,834 by 2000, after Six Flags Great America opened in 1976 and Gurnee Mills followed. The median home dates from 1992.
What the village says about basements
The village calls a basement a common feature of Gurnee homes and is blunt about the risk. Older homes were drained by gravity tiles around the foundation. Newer basements need a sump pump ejection system. In the village's words, a gravity sewer backup or a sump pump failure will likely lead to basement flooding.
A pump is a mechanical part with one job, and it fails the way mechanical parts do, usually on the wettest night of the year. If yours is over seven or eight years old and untested, test it before the next storm. Sump pump repair covers what a plumber checks.
Where the discharge is allowed to go
The village engineering standard is short. The sump pump shall be connected into the storm sewer system, and the village inspects the installation. Not the sanitary sewer. A sump tied into the sanitary line pushes storm water into the pipe that carries sewage, which is how a street of basements backs up at once.
Pipe from the boom years
Homes built between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s sometimes have polybutylene supply pipe, a gray plastic used widely and then withdrawn after too many failures. That era covers most of the housing here. That is general plumbing history, not something the village publishes, so nobody can tell from a desk what is in your walls. A plumber can tell by looking at the pipe at the heater.
Flood help that exists
The village says the national flood insurance rating system gives owners a 5 to 20 percent discount on premiums, and points to the Lake County floodplain buyout program, which buys eligible floodway homes at market value. Check both with the village, since terms as of September 2026 can change.
A sewage backup in Gurnee: the order to do it in
Call Gurnee Public Works first.
The village asks residents to call them before a plumber. Unusual, and free.
They work out whose pipe it is.
Public Works checks whether the blockage sits in the village main or your private line.
If it is your side, you need a plumber.
Village code makes the owner responsible for the building sewer from the main to the house, so that repair is yours. Sewer line repair is what it involves.
Gurnee in numbers
- Record river crest
12.09 feet at the Des Plaines River gauge at Gurnee in July 2017, above the old record of 11.95 feet from September 1986. Source for Record river crest
- Flood thresholds at that gauge
Action 6.5 feet, minor 7, moderate 9, major 11. Crests above 9 feet came in 2018, 2019, and twice in 2020. Source for Flood thresholds at that gauge
- When the houses were built
Median year built 1992. Of 12,081 homes, 7,105 went up between 1980 and 1999, which is 58.8 percent of the village. Source for When the houses were built
- Lead service lines
The 2025 water quality report states there are no known lead or galvanized service lines in the village. Source for Lead service lines
- Water hardness
About 8 grains per gallon, or 137 mg/L, which the village calls moderately hard. It is Lake Michigan water from the regional agency. Source for Water hardness
- The sewer bill splits at I-94
Homes east of the tollway are billed by the North Shore Water Reclamation District and pay property tax to it. Homes west pay a Lake County Public Works charge on the water bill. Source for The sewer bill splits at I-94
What people ask a plumber in Gurnee
My basement is backing up. Do I call a plumber or the village?
The village first. Public Works asks residents to call before a plumber, and will inspect whether the blockage is in the village main or your line. If it is the main, the village fixes it. Your lateral is your repair.
Does Gurnee have hard water?
It is moderately hard, about 8 grains per gallon, from Lake Michigan. A softener here is a choice rather than a necessity, though scale still builds in a heater over ten or twelve years.
Are there lead pipes in Gurnee homes?
The village's completed inventory found no known lead or galvanized service lines in the village, and its 2025 water report says so plainly. You can look up your own line on the village map.
Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Gurnee?
Yes. The application needs a copy of the proposal and a written letter of intent from a licensed plumber, and goes through the village online portal. Water heater repair explains what decides repair against replacement.
Why do I get a sewer bill my neighbor does not get?
The line is the tollway. East of I-94 the North Shore Water Reclamation District bills you and you pay property tax to it. West of it, a Lake County Public Works charge appears on your village water bill.
What to put in the form
Three things, and none needs a plumbing word.
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Whether you are east or west of I-94.
The quickest way to say which sewer system you are on.
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Whether it happens when it rains.
Rain points at storm water and the sump. Otherwise it is the lateral or a fixture.
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How much water there is now.
Standing water near outlets or a panel changes what you do first.
The work people ask for
Pick the closest one, or say it in your own words.
- Emergency Plumber Burst pipes, sewer backups, and water you cannot stop.
- Sump Pump Repair and Installation Pumps that quit, run nonstop, or need a battery backup.
- Water Heater Repair and Installation No hot water, a leaking tank, or a move to tankless.
- Drain Cleaning Slow sinks, clogged tubs, and floor drains that back up.
- Sewer Line Repair and Rodding Root intrusion, camera inspections, and broken laterals.
- Water Softener Installation and Repair Hard water scale, salt problems, and new systems.
Other Lake County towns
Gurnee keeps a backup water connection with the city next door, covered by plumbers in Waukegan, and shares a water agency with plumbers in Libertyville.
Water rising in the basement?
Send the address and say whether it is rain water or sewage. A person reads every request. If we cannot place it with a licensed plumber who covers Gurnee, we tell you. If it is urgent, do not wait on us. Call a local licensed plumber directly.