City of Chicago issues 'Chicagwa' water in a can at total cost of $125,000

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A curious thing happened Tuesday – the City of Chicago came out with an offering of city tap water in a can, called "Chicagwa."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced plans Tuesday for the new branding campaign to promote the city's water quality. It is a limited edition of cans featuring different designs by local artists.

"What we've done in investments that we've made is really step up our ability to deliver clean, safe drinking water to Chicagoans and our regional partners for decades to come," said Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The Chicagwa can run features six different designs. The city also reached a humorous short film announcing Chicwa, narrated by Chicago TikTok historian Shermann "Dilla" Thjomas.

The Chicagwa brand was created by Chicago creative agency Quality Meats. It also features a series of digital billboards running around the city.

Chicagwa water will be distributed free at events throughout the city this summer, and will also be distributed at such spots as RealGood Stuff Co., which has multiple Chicago locations; The Wieners Circle at 2622 N. Clark St.; and Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen at 1141 S. Jefferson St.

CBS 2 Investigator Brad Edwards noted that this campaign caught our interest for a number of reasons.

We have been covering the City of Chicago and its water for four years now in a series called "Getting Hosed." The main focus of the series is on big, bad, and wrong water bills. But another focus on the series is dangerous water – lead in the water.

With almost 400,000 Chicago homes with lead water pipes, we wanted to find out if this was money and time worth what was spent.

Late Wednesday, the Mayor's office told us Chicagwa is a joint partnership, and it costs $125,000.

But they wouldn't give us an exact breakdown for taxpayers.