Dixmoor residents receive free water filters amid ongoing water main break crisis

DIXMOOR, Ill. (WLS) -- Some relief is coming to Dixmoor's residents struggling with the fallout of water main breaks across the village, including at least two overnight.

"You never know if you're going to have water or not," resident Tony Garrett said. " You get home from work and want to take a shower... you can't."

On Saturday, the water filtration company International Pure Water or IPW, was on hand at the Dixmoor Community Center to sign up residents to receive free water filters.

The company said it's mailing out over two dozen filters to residents.

"Especially during Easter time, I feel sad," Kenny Valentino, CFO of International Pure Water, said. "I feel sad they've been suffering for the last couple years."

Valentino said the filter can remove up to 99% of lead and other contaminants from the village's water which is a welcome relief for weary residents ahead of Easter. The filter could potentially lead to thousands in savings.

"People are spending between $3,000 to $5,000 a year in bottled or filtered water," Valentino said. "Our units cost $200 for a whole year of filtered water."

A month ago, the south suburb declared a state of emergency following a dozen water main breaks that led to school closures, a boil order and even the distribution of water bottles.

RELATED: Dixmoor declares state of emergency after 3 more water main breaks, boil order extended

"I feel like your health is affected by the water so the water needs to be clean to drink," resident Nigel Lockett said.

The emergency declaration allows the village to seek county and state funds to help repair aging water infrastructure.

Village leaders like President Fitzgerald Roberts were on site Saturday meeting with residents signing up to receive the free filters.

"There's nothing wrong with the water coming out of the sink but this is just an extra measure to make sure the water is fine," Roberts said.

Roberts released a statement on the latest water main breaks.

"We have crews working on the breaks and they are working as fast as they can to get them fixed," the statement read. "It is our hope these two breaks are isolated incidents. The last thing we need is to trigger another round of multiple water breaks like we had at the beginning of the year. We will be making announcements about any potential boil water orders if it is determined need to issue one. In the meantime, we ask for patience as we work on getting this situation resolved."