Water in Homewood and Flossmoor is safe to drink. The water supply in both communities is routinely tested throughout the year and, according to reports sent to residents, no harmful levels of contaminants have been found in either town.
Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in a series that takes a look at our water system from various angles. These stories originally appeared in the August 2016 print edition of the Chronicle.
Utility Supervisor Harry Hammock describes
equipment used to monitor water quality.
(Photo by Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
Water in Homewood and Flossmoor is safe to drink.
The water supply in both communities is routinely tested throughout the year and, according to reports sent to residents, no harmful levels of contaminants have been found in either town.
Water quality emerged as a national story in the past year following the alarming revelations that the Flint, Michigan, water supply was badly contaminated by corrosive drinking water from the Flint River that caused lead from aging pipes to leach into the local water system. Closer to home, tests showed elevated lead levels in the water at several Chicago Public School buildings.
Tests in Homewood and Flossmoor showed no lead in the local water supply. Water in the two towns was also tested for copper content. In both villages, the copper content — believed to be a byproduct of home plumbing systems — was far below the level of any expected health risk.
Water in the H-F towns is also tested to check the level of chlorine that is added as a disinfectant that combats dangerous levels of bacteria known as coliform. Chicago is responsible for the lion’s share of purifying the water that ends up in Homewood and Flossmoor. But the three towns that provide our local water — Harvey, Homewood and Flossmoor — all add chlorine, which can break down during the water distribution process.
Water quality tests indicate that levels of chlorine fall well within the acceptable range as allowed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). The state and federal environmental agencies require public water systems to limit contaminants ranging from bacteria and viruses, to inorganic compounds, to pesticides and herbicides, to radioactive materials.
Flossmoor checks water quality twice a month. There are five water sampling sites, both in homes and at businesses. Public works employees take the samples.
Testers run the water for two minutes, never from a fast-flowing tap. Jars of the samples are immediately placed in a cooler, and then transferred to a refrigerator in the public works complex. The samples are tested at an area lab that follows EPA standards.
Homewood’s testing practices are similar.
Utility Supervisor Harry Hammock said the public works department makes sure water is tested in all three District 153 schools. Samples are also taken from businesses.
In addition to watching water quality closely, Homewood Public Works Director John Schaefer said state and federal agencies require transparency in the process. For any violation of water testing standards, however small, the department has to publish a public notice with information about the situation.
“If we have a bad sample we are required to make a public notice in the paper. It could be very minute,” he said. “If we missed our due date we’re required to put a notice in the paper. Any type of violation.”
He noted that IEPA requires notification of residents in the area of this summer’s water main replacement project about the possibility of lead exposure, even though the risk is small.
“There’s nothing wrong with our water. Our lead levels are way down. We’re well within compliance,” he said.
Hammock said local water pipes are coated with a phosphate additive that protects the water from lead. He said the now-notorious problem in Flint was caused by introducing river water into the system that disrupted that protective coating.
Chicago also tests for a number of contaminants that might be present in Lake Michigan water when it enters one of the city’s offshore cribs. These include inorganic contaminants like barium and nitrate; unregulated substances like sulfate and sodium; fluoride, a so-called regulated contaminant; radium, a radioactive contaminant; and chemicals like chromium, molybdenum, strontium and vanadium. None of the tests showed dangerous levels of any of these substances. The city also tests for turbidity, a measure of the cloudiness of the water.
According to the Illinois EPA, all sources of surface water are susceptible to potential pollution. Chicago’s intake cribs are believed to be far enough into the lake that contamination nearer to the shore is generally not a factor.
At certain times of the year, though, there is a greater risk of contamination due to wet-weather flows and river reversals. Waterfowl and other birds like terns and gulls, which may perch near the cribs, can also lead to contamination at the water intake source.
Eric Crump contributed to this story.