Officials in suburban Dixmoor say that multiple water main breaks have been fixed and service has been restored, but a boil order will remain in effect for the time being.
Multiple water main breaks were reported in the village this week, forcing workers to shut off water in order to prevent damage to water pumps.
“Water service is back up and running, but at the moment pressure is low while we wait for the water tank to refill,” President Fitzgerald Roberts said in a statement. “There is a boil order in effect until further notice.”
Roberts said that water will be made available to residents until the boil order is lifted.
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In the short-term, negotiations are underway with Thornton Township to get emergency water into the village.
This month’s water issues come less than a year after the village encountered significant problems with its water system. A boil order was issued for several weeks in October and November, as a stubborn problem with low water pressure bedeviled the community.
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Dixmoor usually receives its water from the nearby city of Harvey, but for several weeks last fall, the water pressure in the community was nearly four times lower than the required 36 pounds per square inch, according to officials.
Broken pipes were located and replaced, but turbine issues at the village’s water facility caused the problem to drag on and required significant repair to get the system back up and running.
The renewed issues with the water system are causing plenty of headaches for residents. Village officials say that they got the word out via robo calls, text messages and social media posts, but some residents say they were never notified that the water would be shut off.
“I didn’t get a robocall. So what is the deal with not getting them now?” resident Martha Montero asked.
The village recently received a $2 million investment to assist with water issues, and to install new water mains. That project isn’t slated to begin until the spring of 2023, however.
