3 water main breaks repaired in south Chicago suburb; boil water order remains
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three water mains that broke in south suburban Dixmoor on Monday have been fixed, but a boil water order remained in effect on Tuesday afternoon while officials await the results of testing on water samples.
Schools in Dixmoor were closed on Monday and Tuesday after the latest water main breaks left schools without sufficient water pressure. It was not immediately clear if Dixmoor schools would reopen on Wednesday.
Village officials said three water mains broke on Monday, including one near Lincoln Elementary School.
Another major water main break was later found near 146th and Seeley Avenue, near Rosa Parks Middle School. The issue caused both schools, along with Martin Luther King Elementary School, to shut down because they didn't have any water.
Dixmoor Village President Fitzgerald Roberts said the three water mains that broke on Monday were repaired by Tuesday afternoon. A boil water order remained in effect for the entire village.
Suzana Zavala, a teacher's aide at Rosa Parks Middle, said she worries about the impact on her students' education.
"If this goes on longer, we might not be in school," Zavala said. "It definitely affects my work in order to help the kids get their education and if affects the kids too, because they won't get the education that they need."
Zavala's 12-year-old brother is also a student at the school. He said the toilets and sinks at the school weren't working on Monday.
"Everything is broken," said Jesus Zavala, referencing a call families received from the school. "There's no water."
Suzana Zavala said she managed to fill some pots with water before it was shut off.
"Thankfully we were prepared, however, it has been affecting us because now we don't have water to wash our dishes," she said. "We can't really cook food since we have to wash all our dishes."
In total, seven water mains in Dixmoor have broken in the past week, including the ones on Monday, according to Roberts.
Roberts has said, just when village officials think they are in the clear, there is another break. He said the fluctuating temperatures don't help.
The village has been plagued with water main breaks for years. In April 2022 the village received a $2 million check from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Cook County to help with repairs. Last summer, the village got another $14 million from the state to go towards improving pumping stations, replacing water valves, installing larger water mains, and replacing lead service lines.
Roberts said on Sunday the village is expected to get about $16 million in funding from the county, state and federal governments in about a month and a half. They will use the funds to repair their water system, but it is a drop in the bucket. He estimates they need $50 million to fix their water mains.
"It won't be enough to complete the mains that's breaking out here," he said. "Our infrastructure is very old. As I've been saying, it's over 100 years old. So now it's coming where it's going to have to be replaced."