Robbins residents (still) have water boil advisory after gallons flood out of water tower

CHICAGO -- CBS 2 first showed you the video Wednesday as some in Robbins deal with water outages and water is flooding out of the village's water tower.

On Thursday, the residents in Robbins continue to be under a boil order.

CBS 2's Shardaa Gray spoke to a resident and the mayor of Robbins about their continuous frustrations with their water system.

"We definitely buy and keep bottles of water and gallons, just in case, because anything can happen."

Robbins resident Dynetta Clark makes sure she's prepared with gallons of water because of frequent water main breaks that cause their water to be cut off.

"We just do what we have to do. That's it, that's all. If you got a friend, you can go to and take a shower and use their bathroom, then go to the next town and do so," Clark said.

That's exactly what Clark had to do when the village of Robbins issued a boil order Wednesday. Water overflowing from the Robbins water tower Sunday left some residents dumbfounded.

"What is this made of? The sun is melting it like that."

Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant said he inherited the water issues.

"Over 40 years of crumbling infrastructure. It's the same story that you see in black communities across the nation. Poor infrastructure, especially with the water," Bryant said.

But Mayor Bryant said he was able to secure a $8 million grant from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and $4 million will be used for lead line service replacements.

The other $4 million will replace the Clare Blvd pumping station on Kedzie.

But he got this letter on Tuesday from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity saying one of the grants has to go through another agency, the Department of Natural Resources, before he can see the money.

"The procurement process to receive the money from the state down to the local municipalities is the real frustration that we have right now," Bryant said. 

Mayor Bryant said it's the reason why they're under a boil advisory because of rusted pipes.

"That's something you hear of in other countries. American citizens and taxpayers have to be on boil alert and stand by over the water, not knowing what's in it," Bryant said. 

"All that, that's money right there falling."

Mayor Bryant said since they buy their water from the city of Chicago, they're hoping to find out how much spilled over. Bryant said the Village of Robbins had defaulted from paying the city since 1991, when the mayor was born.

The village's water bill to the city of Chicago is $16 million. 

In:
• Water Main Break
• Boil Water Advisory