Residents of Burnham, Illinois, are expressing anger and concern after discovering that their neighborhood has been under a boil water advisory for a week due to a water main break.
Deartra Velazquez, who has lived in the area for many years, voiced her frustration upon learning that her block has been under the advisory since the incident occurred a week ago.
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“People could be unknowingly drinking the contaminated water. With kids in the bathtub, it’s alarming not to be informed for an entire week,” Velazquez shared.
Other residents in the affected zone, located west of Torrence Avenue between State and 139th Streets, have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of communication from local officials following the January 27 water main break. However, they preferred to remain off-camera.
Fortunately, the eastern part of town appears to be unaffected by the issue.
“In my 25 years here, this is the first major water main break we’ve experienced. We are working hard to resolve the issue and will fix it as soon as possible,” assured Mayor Robert Polk.
The mayor of the village of Burnham, which is a small south suburb with a population of roughly 4,000 people, says he’s tried to keep residents as informed as possible about both the water main break and the boil order.
“Well, we posted it on the website, and we also, only PA, that we might, would have shut the water off because of a water main break during the day,” Polk said.
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Village officials say they couldn’t use the town’s CodeRED automated alert system because it was compromised by a data breach over a month ago and has not been brought back online yet.
Concerned residents say this is just the latest occurrence of water issues in Burnham.
“We should have all been boiling our water for a week. As soon as I posted that, I got another message. ‘Well, nobody said there was a boil order. Well, that’s not what the website says.’ Well, all of a sudden, this past Monday, we all got a text message, an automated text message. Now, all of a sudden, automation works,” Velazquez said.
A boil order is required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency if the water pressure drops below a certain point.
Village officials say their efforts to quickly make repairs have been stymied because the location of the water main break is on railroad property by railroad tracks and near high tension lines, which requires permission and a permit before any work can begin.
“The most critical part about this water main break: It was very close to the railroad tracks. And that’s what’s causing us an extended period of time,” Polk said.
Another water main break at State and Muskegon Avenue was quickly repaired in a few hours.
Village officials say the timing on the necessary repairs is tricky. But, if all goes well, they hope to lift the water boil order as soon as possible.
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