Holiness is the Way Gospel Temple has been without water for 11 days. That means no meals after church and no bathrooms for parishioners.
Pastor Henry Sutton said he thought it was just frozen pies, so he waited a few days to report the situation to the city. The water department came out to look at the small church on Thursday, but has yet to fix it.
"If they would just tell us what they are going to do. But we're reporting it, we're reporting it. We'd understand," Pastor Sutton said. "We usually serve meals after service. We can't do it because we have no water. We got children that need to go to the bathroom."
The City of Chicago said the water department is overwhelmed with service calls. A spokesperson said the crews are trying to catch up. At this time last year, the department had received 939 calls about service. But as of Monday, the department had received 4,500 calls.
City crews are working around the clock, the spokesperson said. Just last week, water crews were in the same block as Way Gospel Temple to deal with a separate water main issue that left several buildings without water.
"This year, mainly. We've had more problems with water pipes freezing outside in the city part. Normally, I try to keep the water running inside," Pastor Otis Nuun, Gates Praise Salvation, said.
