Longtime resident Deartra Velazquez is angry, after she says she just learned the block where she lives in the village has been under a boil order following a water main break a week ago.
"People might be drinking the water and not knowing this, you know. So, kids in the bathtub, you know, you just don't know this, so to wait one whole week without us being told," Velazquez said.
Other residents who live in the affected area, west of Torrence Avenue between State and 139th streets, did not want to be on camera, but expressed their frustration, too, about the lack of communication from city leaders following a Jan. 27 water main break.
The east side of town seems to be OK.
"This is the first time that we've had a water main break of this magnitude in 25 years that I've been here. We are working diligently on it, and we're gonna get it fixed as soon as possible," Mayor Robert Polk said.
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.