Officials from south suburban Dixmoor’s sole water provider, the city of Harvey, addressed Dixmoor’s water shortage for the first time Tuesday and said the problem is in Dixmoor, not Harvey.
Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark said at a news conference Tuesday that workers contracted by Harvey found a burst pipe near West 147th Street and Robey Avenue in Dixmoor. Residents went almost a week without a reliable source of water.
The break was in a water main that runs through the woods near I-57 and Robey, according to Innovations and Solutions manager Randy Lusk with M.E. Simpson, a water management company brought in by Harvey to examine the problem.
The broken water pipe was estimated to be leaking about 500 gallons of water a minute, said Lusk — 720,000 gallons per 24 hours, he added. He clarified that the problem did not originate, as previously suspected, with the 12-inch feeder pipe running from Harvey to Dixmoor.
Harvey had two water main breaks on 145th and 146th streets and Ashland Avenue, but these were “in no way related to what was going on in the village of Dixmoor,” Clark said.
After work was done to address the leakage, Dixmoor’s water pressure and flow problems improved, said Lusk. But “there are probably other issues that have to be dealt within the village of Dixmoor,” he said.
According to Clark and email printouts distributed at the news conference, Harvey had informed the previous mayor of Dixmoor, Yvonne Davis, in January that the amount of water Harvey was sending to Dixmoor had doubled, which indicated “some possible leaks, some possible issues” with Dixmoor’s water system.
Clark also said he didn’t address the issue previously because “simply put, there was nothing to add.”
He said that Harvey brought 200 cases of water to Dixmoor and that he couldn’t reach Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts after calling and leaving a message twice.
Roberts “respectfully” declined to attend the news conference, citing the need to continue helping residents but said in a news release that “we are interested in hearing what the city of Harvey has to say about this issue despite not being asked for our input for today’s briefing.”
Dixmoor is receiving water from another neighboring city, Blue Island, which buys its water from Chicago. Dixmoor and Blue Island entered into a 30-day agreement that allows Blue Island to temporarily provide water to Dixmoor via a “temporary, small water line,” according to a news release from Blue Island’s mayor. The agreement stipulates that Blue Island will charge Dixmoor $12.37 per 1,000 gallons.
Blue Island Mayor Fred Bilotto said the rate charged to Dixmoor is set by city ordinance. “Access to clean water is a human right,” he said. “We are a neighbor. We wanted to help in any way we can.”
Clark said he plans to have conversations in the next few weeks with other towns that get water from Harvey including East Hazel Crest, Hazel Crest, Homewood and Posen as well as investors and developers to reassure them “our system is intact.”
Other speakers reiterated the need for federal investment in water infrastructure, citing money from the American Rescue Plan Act and other bills that could help with sewer and water infrastructure improvement.
These water problems are “not unique just to these communities,” said Kristi DeLaurentiis, executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, who also spoke at the news conference. “What happened last week is a clear indication of the ticking time clock that many communities are facing.”
This story has been revised to correct the spelling of Kristi DeLaurentiis.
