Joliet, Illinois crews go all out to find, fix leaks in water system
Nearly a third of the water pumped in the city of Joliet never makes it to customers — largely because of leaks.
But the city is working hard on a fix, with city crews out on the streets daily as they look for and repair the leaks in the water system.
CBS News Chicago tagged along with a water infrastructure repair crew Thursday. Worker Jayson Kubinski said he got "pretty muddy" making the repairs — but it's part of the job as he works to protect a precious resource.
"Trying to save the water loss for this new project coming," Kubinski said.
A total of 29% of all the water the City of Joliet supplies is lost — much of it due to those very leaks that Kubinski was fixing Thursday.
"Everyone in Joliet's doing their part to fix the leaks," said Allison Swisher, director of public utilities for the City of Joliet.
Swisher is focused on water loss because of what the city stands to gain.
"Our existing wells are no longer going to be sustainable, so we're switching to Lake Michigan water," said Swisher.
Joliet plans to make that switch in 2030.
"It'll be here before we know it," Swisher said.
But before that happens, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources requires Joliet to cut its water loss to no more than 10%.
"It's a big endeavor, but we know it's important so that we can be responsible using Lake Michigan water," Swisher said.
To fulfill that mission Joliet is all in — and all ears. City contractors put on headsets and place high-powered microphones on fire hydrants and valves to listen for leaks.
They use an electronic device to pinpoint the location of a leak.
Joliet hopes to replace almost 200 miles of pipes by 2030.
"It's a significant portion of our system," Swisher said.
In other words, Kubinski and his crew have their work cut out for them.
"It's the job," he said.
This also so happens to be "fix a leak week." Joliet urges homeowners to check all their faucets, showerheads and toilets for leaks.
The Environmental Protection Agency said says household leaks can waste up to almost a trillion gallons of water a year in the U.S.
