Dixmoor Residents Continue To Experience Low Water Pressure; 'This Is Not A Third World Country'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thousands of residents in Dixmoor are still experiencing low water pressure issues from over the weekend, having a trickle of water to none at all.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot spoke with people in Dixmoor about the ongoing issue.
With a boil order in effect and little to no water at times, people living in the village are fed up. John Lannan lives in a mobile home. After turning on his hose spigot at full blast, he says it's the most water pressure he's had in five days. He just wonders, how long this will last.
"This is not a third world country. Get it fixed," Lannan said.
That's the message the frustrated Dixmoor resident is expressing after five days with virtually no water or a trickle coming out of his faucets and hose spigot.
"I can't wash dishes. I can't wash clothes. I can't take a shower," he said.
Local businesses like the neighborhood Aldi and schools are also closed because there's no water.
The Village of Dixmoor gets its water from the city of Harvey. Water pressure issues started in Dixmoor on Saturday. There was a broken pipe in Harvey on Saturday, and also on Monday, which the Dixmoor Village President Fitzgerald Roberts says, led to low water pressure in his community.
On Wednesday, the problem is back again.
"I would like the governor, from the federal level, all levels, get involved with this issue, where we can take care of this infrastructure out here, where this problem will not occur again," Roberts said.
The city of Harvey's administrator says aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance on Dixmoor's part is the issue. Now, Harvey is working to get Dixmoor's reservoir filled. Harvey also has an engineer and contractors looking at their system, to make sure there's no problem on their end. For Lannan, a fix can't come soon enough.
"This has been ongoing since Saturday morning. How long does it take?" he said.
Dixmoor's mayor says they've been using a map of all the pipes in the village to check each one. Now, they think there's a valve issue that's creating the low water pressure. No word yet if the the governor's office is going to take part.