Officials marked the completion of a new water line in Dixmoor, a community plagued with water supply disruptions, but said Monday much more money is needed to ensure reliable water supplies in Dixmoor and other south suburbs.
Construction on the work got underway in June of last year, and officials marked the completion Monday, although the new water line itself is underground. The total project cost a bit more than $3 million, with about $2 million in federal funding and about $1 million from Cook County through its Build Up Cook program.
“Our work is not done,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, noting that “many communities, especially Black and brown communities,” have lacked the resources needed to keep water systems in good repair.
“This is not just a Dixmoor problem, as an isolated phenomenon,” said Drew Williams-Clark, director of Build Up Cook.
Taking in large portions of the south and southwest suburbs, addressing water system needs has a price “in the billions, billions with a B,” he said.
“It’s widely understood we have this longstanding need for water main replacement” projects, Williams-Clark said.
The Dixmoor project included replacing an existing 8-inch water main with about 4,400 feet of new 12-inch main from Seeley Avenue (south of 139th Street), running south under Interstate 57 and extending east to 143rd Street, where officials gathered to snip a ribbon to mark the project’s completion. Construction was completed earlier this summer, according to the county.
Five existing water mains were also capped throughout the area. The installation of new, larger pipes and the capping of existing, inaccessible and aging mains will result in increased water pressure and system reliability, and prevent water loss throughout the village, according to the county.
Dixmoor had experienced numerous water line breaks around the community, and matters had gotten so bad that at one point Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts asked Gov. J.B. Pritzker to issue an emergency declaration for the village due to the water troubles.
Toward the end of July 2022, all 3,500 Dixmoor residents were without clean drinking water following a series of breaks and, in October 2021, main breaks also left residents without water.
At the end of August 2022, West Harvey-Dixmoor District 147 canceled classes for two days at Martin Luther King Elementary and Rosa Parks Middle School because of a water main break.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Roberts said Monday. “This is something the residents have been needing for years, for years.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in April 2022 the village would receive $2 million in federal money for the water main project.
Lt. Joseph Baumann, deputy district commander for the Corps Chicago district, said Monday completion of the water line “is the beginning of a new chapter for Dixmoor.”
He said it is “vital in addressing longstanding challenges” with the village’s water supply infrastructure.
“One of the great challenges faced by communities nationwide is aging infrastructure,” said U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, said.
She said having reliable access to water “is the lifeblood” of a community.
South suburban mayors with aging water infrastructure have called it an “invisible problem” because the water lines don’t draw much attention because they are unseen until a break and the water stops flowing.
They have said that low-interest loans or large federal grants are needed because their communities lack the money to tackle infrastructure projects costing tens of millions of dollars.
mnolan@southtownstar.org
