As Robbins water main leak continues, tensions among officials heightens
Floodwaters have taken over the yard of Vanessa Macias’ Beverly Woods home on West 119th Street by Mount Hope Cemetery in an escalation of an ongoing saga over a water main break that multiple jurisdictions are avoiding fixing.
Every day for a month and a half, thousands of gallons of water have flowed out of a pipe belonging to the south suburb of Robbins, according to Chicago’s 19th Ward Ald. Matthew O’Shea.
But because the break occurred in Blue Island, is affecting Chicago residents and the damage is to infrastructure owned by Robbins, officials in all three municipalities say it is not their responsibility, leading to the problem worsening by the day.
“The fact that we pay so much in taxes, so much in mortgage, to not even be able to enjoy the house, that’s the frustrating part,” said Macias, 36, of her Chicago home which she has owned for three years. “I feel like we are in a worse situation than we were when it first started.”
Her front yard is being taken up by two water pumps supplied by the Chicago Department of Water Management, which are moving water from the main break underneath the nearby railroad tracks. Macias’ backyard and side of her home has turned into a lake in recent days as the outflow has increased in the days since it first appeared in the last days of 2023.
As for a more long-term fix, the county has agreed to step in, although a timeline has not been given.
“Cook County continues to work closely with leadership from the Village of Robbins to assist them in finding a permanent solution,” spokesman Audrey Jonas with the Cook County Board’s Bureau of Asset Management said in a statement. “The contractor we’ve hired to assist Robbins with repairs has identified the source of the main break and is working to ensure that the village will have a water supply in place before the broken main is shut down so repairs can be made.”
Because of the loud, triple digit decibel roar and nauseous fumes from the water pumps, Macias and her partner, Manuel Gomez, said they have been staying at Gomez’s parents’ spare unit. They own a building in Brighton Park.
“We can’t be home,” said Macias. “I feel like we’re scrambling to buy time and to find places to stay and I don’t want to be an inconvenience to my in-laws. Thankfully we’ve been lucky enough to have a place to stay with them.”
Macias is also preparing for a significant financial loss as she expects her fence and lawn to need to be replaced because of water damage. She plans to file a claim with the city after the water is drained.
But O’Shea, who said he has overseen over 1,000 claims made by residents against the city, doesn’t think her claim will be successful. He thinks no lawyer representing Chicago would accept the city paying for a homeowner’s new fence because of damage caused by a water main that is not city property.
“They could file a claim but you may as well file a claim against the planet of Mars. It’s not going to happen,” he said.
O’Shea has continually put the responsibility of fixing this main break on Robbins. But Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant has said his town cannot afford to fix the main break, which was first estimated to cost $250,000 but has ballooned to a seven-figure bill, according to O’Shea.
O’Shea said the village should still have enough in its coffers to do more, and said Bryant has been unresponsive.
“If not already the case, this could very quickly become a very significant public health crisis,” O’Shea said. “It is astonishing to me that this mayor is not calling out for federal help.”
Bryant laughed off both the assertion he has been hard to reach and that his town is not paying for the fix out of choice.
“Ald. O’Shea, he’s more focused on taking shots in the paper rather than sitting down and talking to the mayor. That’s his priority,” Bryant said, insisting he has been very responsive but has not received a call from O’Shea.
Bryant said any speculation about the village’s ability to pay for this water main fix was “uneducated” and “absurd.”
One thing the leaders agreed on was the path forward will likely involve Cook County stepping in and paying for fixing the water main. While the main is shut off so workers can fix the line, the village of Alsip will supply water for Robbins residents. Alsip Mayor John Ryan Monday the Village Board agreed unanimously to provide water for Robbins while the county fixes the line.
Ryan said Alsip will bill Robbins for the water it uses, so Alsip taxpayers will not be on the hook.
