A water outage in Hawthorn Woods on Sunday morning has led to confusion and few answers about issue from the water company, Aqua Illinois (Marissa Perlman/CBS 2 Chicago). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Residents of Hawthorn Woods and Kildeer are concerned about health and inconvenience because they have been living with little or no water pressure for four consecutive days. Residents have had to use bottled water for drinking water, and have been given boil orders. Aqua Illinois, a private water provider, has been having difficulty with the delivery of potable water (drinking water). Water pressure in the delivery system has been below the acceptable level of 20 PSI.
According to Aqua Illinois, the company experienced a dramatic drop in water pressure across their water distributions systems on Sunday, July 2, 2023. The company distributed a conservation notice, while suspecting the drought conditions were playing a role in the drop in pressure. Customers were asked to conserve water. Due to low pressure, Aqua Illinois issued a precautionary boil water advisory on Sunday until testing could confirm the water was safe to consume.
Then on Monday, July 3, 2023, Aqua Illinois identified a leak in a commercial property connected to their system. Aqua Illinois reported that once the low pressure issue was isolated, the company was able to successfully restore water service to all three systems. However, on July 4, 2023, low pressure issues continued, and Aqua Illinois was still working on improving service and water pressure on Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
The water issue also caused the closure of the Hawthorn Woods Aquatic Center from July 3 to at least July 6, 2023.
HEALTH CONCERNS …
Low water pressure and breaks in the integrity of water pipes can temporarily threaten safe tap water. While a water boil may remedy microbial contamination of drinking water, a water boil treatment does not necessarily rid the water of other contaminants — such as pesticides, petroleum products, fertilizers, etc. — that may be in the soil adjacent to a broken water main or other pipe with unknown integrity issues. In other words, we tend to focus on microbes that might make us sick in a few hours or days. But what about contamination by chemicals that might make us sick in years or decades?
When a water main break occurs, water is flowing in the street and buckling pavement, pushing up sod, and throwing silt into the street; the pressure in the water main is dropped, and the pressure delivered to residents is lower. But what about leaks and breaks in the integrity of pipes carrying drinking water that go undetected. The potential for a negative pressure event exists. That means stuff outside the pipes might get inside the broken pipes, and into your drinking water. Normally, high water pressure — above 20 PSI, for example — keeps biological and chemical contaminants outside of the pipes. You don’t want to be drinking water where low pressure inside pipes might be allowing contaminants from nearby sewer lines to be drawn into the pipes used for drinking water. Similarly, you don’t want to be drinking water that might be supplied in pipes that are drawing in soil contaminants where lawn fertilizer, weed killers, or gasoline, etc. are lurking in the soil. What if your neighbor has a leaky septic tank; or think of all the lawn applications of weed chemicals and fertilizers you see in the neighborhood during the summer. You don’t want to be drinking water from low pressure pipes. Sewer lines carrying feces and human waste are supposed to be a significant distance from drinking water supply pipes, but what if a low pressure event is allowing feces and other sewer contaminants to be drawn in to the low pressure drinking water supply pipe from nearby soil contamination?
Soil contaminants will flow from a relatively higher pressure to a lower pressure. If contaminants are in the soil — next to a broken water main that no longer has the pressure or integrity to keep chemicals and microbes out — those contaminants can enter the water distribution system. According to the EPA, any contaminant exterior to the distribution system may enter potable water supplies during a negative pressure event. Chemical contaminants could include pesticides, petroleum products, fertilizers, solvents, detergents, pharmaceuticals, and other compounds. Predominant pesticides in urban areas include atrazine, simazine, prometon, and diazinon (Patterson and Focazio 2001). According to the EPA, other studies have detected insect repellants, fire retardants, and other industrial chemicals (Koplin et al. 2002). If chemical compounds intrude in sufficient concentration or volume, they might result in acute toxicity. Microbial contaminants are a concern because even with dilution, some microbes (e.g., viruses) could cause an infection with a single organism, according to the EPA.
See also …
Abu-Ashour, J. et al, 1994. Transport of microorganisms through soil. Water, Air and Soil
Pollution. 75:141-158.
Karim, M, M. Abbaszadegan, and M.W. LeChevallier. 2001. Potential for pathogen intrusion during pressure transients. JAWWA submitted.
Kolpin, D. W., E. T. Furlong, M. T. Meyer, E. M. Thurman, S. D. Zuagg, L. B. Barber, and H. T. Buxton. 2002. Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in US
streams, 1999-2000: a national reconnaissance. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36: 1202-2111.
Patterson, G.G. and M. J. Focazio. 2001. Contaminants and drinking water sources in 2001: recent findings of the U.S. Geological Survey. Open File Report 00-510. USGS, Denver, CO.
Recommended Standards for Water Works, 1997. Great Lakes Upper Mississippi River Board of State Public Health & Environmental Managers. Health Education Services, Albany, New York.
For most of D.C., tap water is safe. But communication problems abound
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Communications retrieved from the Village of Hawthorn Woods on Thursday morning July 6, 2023 at 6:30 AM …
Important Messages from Aqua Illinois
AQUA
July 5, 2023
The Village of Hawthorn Woods is in receipt of the following message regarding Aqua Illinois water system. This is for Aqua Illinois water customers only.
“Dear AQUA Customer:
We’re continuing to supplement our system’s water supply and expect customers will slowly regain water service throughout the day. More than half of our customers are back online and we expect that number to continue to grow if there are no unexpected changes in the system or sudden increases in demand.
We are aware of the areas that are experiencing continued outages and low pressure. As we fill the water lines with water, we’re being careful to ensure air that was in the lines can escape. Doing this helps to protect the integrity of the system and can minimize further failures, but it’s a slow process. It is essential that both residential and commercial customers refrain from lawn irrigation and conserve as much water as possible.
We thank customers for their continued patience as we work through this process and remind our customers that a boil water advisory will remain in effect until further notice. Bottled water will be available from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Hawthorn Woods Aquatic Center (94 Midlothian Road) until this issue is completely resolved. Customers can find regular updates and additional information here: https://www.aquawater.com/iljuly2023communications.php.
Background on the situation:
A confluence of factors – including last week’s drought conditions, multiple leaks and main breaks, and increased holiday demand— created a unique situation that made it difficult for the system to regain pressure, despite our best efforts. You can see a fully detailed timeline below of what has happened to date – we want to be transparent with you.
During this time, we have been systematically working through our complex system to isolate, understand and address the sources of water loss. We believed we solved the problem on Monday, when we identified a major leak on a customer’s property. After we isolated the valve, service was restored for several hours and our data showed we were in the clear. However, pressure began dropping once again a few hours later, and we determined we had additional leaks. Also the large break discovered on Monday had caused our main storage tank to fall very low – we are still trying to get that tank full. This is critical for us to meet the peak summer demands.
On Tuesday, we began supplementing our water supply by hauling in water from our Aqua regional network to help refill our system based on the water we had lost. Water service began slowly resuming for customers on Wednesday morning, and we expect water pressure to continue to increase if there are no unexpected changes in the system or sudden increases in demand.
Important Things to Remember:
Bottled water is being provided for ALL Aqua residents impacted by this service issue at the Hawthorn Aquatic Center, 94 Midlothian Road, Hawthorn Woods, IL 60047 from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. We will continue providing water until this situation is completely resolved. We will deliver water for customers with a hardship or extenuating circumstances.
A boil water advisory will remain in place until our supply increases and tests indicate our water is safe to consume.
We provide regular updates through our WaterSmart text and email alerts and encourage all customers to sign up: https://www.aquawater.com/watersmart-alerts.php.
In the case of a fire, we have the tools and water supply to help with fire protection efforts.
Overview of the timeline to date:
Sunday, July 2:
We began experiencing a dramatic drop in water pressure across these systems on Sunday, July 2. Our team distributed a conservation notice, as we suspected the drought conditions were playing a role, and we asked customers to conserve water.
Due to low pressure, we issued a precautionary boil water advisory on Sunday until our testing could confirm the water was safe to consume, which is typical protocol.
Monday, July 3:
On the morning of Monday, July 3, we identified a leak in a commercial property connected to our system. Once it was isolated, we were able to successfully restore water service to all three systems.
A few hours later, we began seeing additional pressure issues in the three systems, which we believe were caused by a separate leak. Our wells were unable to provide enough water during the increased demand, so we could not catch up our supply and pressurize the system during the day.
Hawthorn Woods began providing bottled water to residents Monday.
Tuesday, July 4:
Our teams worked overnight to address the pressure issues, and we saw some progress with our system pressure stabilizing. However, increased morning demand caused pressure to drop once again. As a result, customers continued to experience low pressure and intermittent outages Tuesday as we continued to troubleshoot.
We worked closely with multiple contractors and crews to continue to identify and fix leaks.
We began to truck in water from elsewhere in the Aqua regional system to help increase our water supply and fill our storage tank
We began distributing bottled water on Tuesday, July 4, and will continue to do so until the situation is resolved.
Wednesday, July 5:
Due to focused operations and continued work on leaks overnight, our system began to stabilize. Water service began to resume for customers Wednesday morning, and we anticipate more will regain service and pressure will improve throughout the day.
You can click here to see a full list of our customer communications on this issue.
If you have any questions, please call Aqua Illinois at 877-987-2782.
Thank you
Aqua Illinois”
July 5, 2023
The Village of Hawthorn Woods is in receipt of the following message regarding Aqua Illinois water system. This is for Aqua Illinois water customers only.
“Dear AQUA Customer:
Due to focused operations and continued work on leaks overnight, our system began to stabilize. Some customers who are without water should see increased pressure and resumed service slowly throughout the day. Today we will supplement our supply with the Aqua regional network to fill up our tank and help maintain system pressure. We’re asking that all customers – residential and commercial – continue to refrain from irrigation during this time.
A reminder for customers as water service returns: we are still under a boil water advisory; water must be boiled for five minutes before consumption. Our bottled water distribution will be open today from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. at the Hawthorn Woods Aquatic Center (94 Midlothian Road) for customers who need it.
If you have any questions, please call Aqua Illinois at 877-987-2782.
Thank you,
Aqua Illinois”
July 4, 2023
The Village of Hawthorn Woods is in receipt of the following message regarding Aqua Illinois water system. This is for Aqua Illinois water customers only.
Disruption Map
Please click here to acknowledge receipt of this message
“Dear AQUA Customer:
We saw some progress in addressing the water pressure issues facing the Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and Lake County Public Works systems overnight, as our system pressure stabilized. However, increased morning demand caused pressure to drop again. As a result, we believe customers will continue to experience low pressure and outages today.
We apologize for this inconvenience, and we’re continuing to work around the clock to fully resolve the issue. To help support our customers, we’re setting up a bottled water distribution center at the Hawthorn Woods Aquatic Center from 11am until 5pm on Wednesday, July 5th.
We’re asking our customers to continue conserving as much water as possible to help expedite system recovery, including eliminating all outdoor water usage, taking shorter showers, minimizing the use of washers and dishwashers and not letting the water run unnecessarily.
A boil water advisory will remain in place until our supply increases and tests indicate our water is safe to consume. You can sign up for our WaterSmart alerts for updates on service and bottled water distribution here: https://www.aquawater.com/watersmart-alerts.php
If you have any questions, please call Aqua Illinois at 877-987-2782.
Thank you
AQUA IL”
July 3, 2023
The Village of Hawthorn Woods is in receipt of the following message regarding Aqua Illinois water system. This is for Aqua Illinois water customers only.
“Our team continues to work around the clock to address the low pressure and water outages in the Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and the Lake County Public Works systems. We have identified the root of the issue, and we believe we will soon be able to fully restore service with a boil water advisory remaining in place.
To help support these efforts, we ask our customers to conserve as much water as possible. This includes eliminating all outdoor water usage, taking shorter showers, minimizing the use of washers and dishwashers and not letting the water run unnecessarily.
We thank our customers for their patience while we address this issue – we will continue to keep them updated.
If you have any questions, please call Aqua Illinois at (877) 987-2782.”
July 2, 2023
The Village of Hawthorn Woods is in receipt of the following updated message regarding Aqua Illinois water system. This is for Aqua Illinois water customers only.
“Due to the severe drought facing our region, Aqua Illinois is addressing low pressure and water outages in the Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and the Lake County Public Works systems. As a result we have issued a precautionary boil water advisory, asking all customers to use bottled water or to boil all water for consumption.
Our operations team is working diligently to increase water pressure and supply to fully restore service as quickly as possible, including the use of booster pumps in our reservoir. To help speed up service restoration and to end the boil water advisory, it is essential that customers conserve as much water as possible.
In addition to our conservation notices and recommended irrigation schedules sent throughout the month of June, we’re asking customers to discontinue all non-essential water use. This includes eliminating all outdoor water usage, taking shorter showers, minimizing the use of washers and dishwashers and not letting the water run while shaving or brushing teeth.
We apologize for the inconvenience over the holiday weekend, and we thank our customer for helping to conserve water in support of our efforts – every drop counts.”
If you have any questions, please call Aqua Illinois at (877) 987-2782.