Flint’s water problems have made headlines nationwide after toxic levels of lead had been found in the city’s drinking water. Consequently, many Chicago area water departments reassured its residents that their own water is safe.
In a proactive move, the city of Lake Forest sent an email to its residents in order to make sure they know they have safe water.
“We were very confident of our water supply not only Lake Michigan but our water plant as well,” said Michael Thomas, Lake Forest's director of public works.
“I think that’s one of things about our community that we do really well is get the word out and not be afraid to tell what’s going on with the city’s water supply,” said John Gulledge, Lake Forest chief water plant operator.
Lake Forest uses a unique filtering system to make sure its residents have safe and good tasting water. They also pump the chemical phosphate through their service lines to prevent lead from leaching into the water, which appears not to have been done in Flint.
“The entire water supply receives it and it coats those lead service lines,” Thomas said. “So it is a good thing.”
The city of Chicago’s water department has had an ‘influx’ of calls since Flint’s water problems started making news. The city stressed they have 24/7 monitoring of its tap water, and just like Lake Forest the department “has an aggressive anti-corrosion program in which phosphate forms a coating on lead pipes, preventing lead from leaching into the water.”
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“For lead and copper specifically every three years we sample 30 homes in town that have been pre-qualified,” Gulledge said.
“We are we are very proud to give residents top notch water,” Thomas said.
