Crest Hill, Illinois residents say cloudy and discolored water is an ongoing issue
CREST HILL, Ill. (CBS) -- Murky, discolored water is coming out of faucets and spigots in homes in Crest Hill, and neighbors say it is a persistent problem.
Residents of the southwest suburb took their concerns to city leaders Wednesday.
Crest Hill resident Meg Kurowski has a line of containers around her kitchen— gallon jugs and empty boxed wine bags that she fills up at a friend's home each week—because she doesn't trust the water that comes out of her own tap.
"In this day and age where water comes to your house, why do I have to schlep water from here, there, and everywhere just so I can have drinking water?" Kurowski said.
Kurowski is not alone in not trusting the water.
"What the heck is going on? Because I started seeing people posting pictures of like brown water coming out of their faucets," she said, "and white water—I don't even know what that is."
Kurowski snapped photos of the green water that filled her tub on March 31 and April 1. Others sent their own photos and videos—including one showing cloudy water just last week.
CBS News Chicago talked to several Crest Hill city leaders for this story. None of them would go on camera, but they said the cloudy water is likely the result of recent hydrant flushing.
Kurowski was not reassured.
"What's it been the rest of the year then?" she said. "What's their excuse for the rest of the year?"
CBS News Chicago tool the City of Crest Hill's most recent water report, from last year, to Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards.
"It had elevated levels of copper in it, which is in itself a significant human health concern," Edwards said. "But the utility should be taking action to try to reduce the corrosivity of the drinking water according to the EPA lead and copper rule provisions."
Edwards, who previously worked on the Flint, Michigan water crisis, said those elevated copper levels are likely to blame for Kurowski's green water. He said residents are right to be cautious
Crest Hill uses a well system, and acknowledges that Will County has "hard water" with high mineral levels. Crest Hill is scheduled to transition to Lake Michigan-sourced water in 2030.
Meanwhile, Kurowski said her days of schlepping water for herself and her dogs is ending soon. She's moving to Tennessee.
