Dixmoor's president, residents need $20 million to permanently repair water mains or 'it's going to keep going'

DIXMOOR, Ill. (CBS) -- Yet another boil order for Dixmoor residents just lifted.

The south suburban village has been plagued with water woes for months and while crews have been working tirelessly to fix the broken mains, the question still remains: How are they going to fix it for good?

CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey has been digging into that question as plenty of people claim help is on the way.

Help is coming in the form of about $2 million, but that amount will barely scratch the surface of the problem in Dixmoor.
The village president said they need more money and prayers.  

"They have to fix the problem. I don't know what they have to fix, but they have to do something or give the residents some kind of break here."

At the Smith Mobile Home Park, Debbie Donohue is still using bottled water, as are many of the Village's roughly 4,000 residents.
This as the latest boil order has been lifted.

"It happened once or twice. Ok, now it's ongoing. Is it even safe to drink it," asked Donohue.

By our count, this is the fourth major water incident since last October. With boil orders usually lasting a few days. One went on for more than two weeks. This time it temporarily forced the closure of Dixmoor schools.

Dixmoor Village President Fitzgerald Roberts said that's where pallets of water are headed.

"I've been here for 31 years and I've never seen this many breaks. It's going to keep going on until there's a big fix," Roberts said.

The century-old infrastructure needs an overhaul. But when CBS 2 reached out to the county, state and feds, they all pointed to $2 million in funding to install a new distribution water main. The project's bidding process wont even start until December. And there's bigger problem.

"That's not going to be enough to fix the pipes out here," Roberts said, adding that it's just a Band-Aid. 

The $2 million will patch the North Side, but to address the rest of the village, they'll need more like $20 to $25 million. If the state and federal government are patting themselves on the back for $2 million, but really $20 million is needed, will it fix the problem?

"That's why I'm pleading and asking help for now," Roberts said.

CBS 2 reached out to Governor JB Pritzker's office to ask if a state of emergency declaration could help. So far, no response.
Unfortunately President Roberts said that's been his issue too. Right now, he's waiting for the governor's office to call him back.

"If I have to travel from here to Springfield, it's worth the ride," Roberts said. 

Another $4 million in grant funding has been set aside to replace lead service lines but that work won't start until October 2023.

In the meantime, Roberts said right now, Dixmoor still has three water mains that are still broken.