Residents and employees of Oakwood, Illinois, told Fox Illinois that some in town are often too afraid to drink or cook with their water, which is provided by Prairie Path Water Company, and that their bills are through the roof.
On Thursday afternoon, Prairie Path held a workshop for Oakwood residents to help them with the problems.
"When we do clean the apartments, we do see that the water is like a rust color and sometimes it stinks pretty bad. Some of the tenants are afraid to drink it because of the chlorine,” explained Sandy Morgan, the property manager for low-income apartments Oakwood Manor.
According to Morgan and another resident who called Fox Illinois, the issue of water quality is something residents have been fighting for several years. Residents say when they turn on their sinks they have 30 seconds of dirty water that smells before it clears up, which causes them to only use their water for bathing and cleaning.
Prairie Path Water Company says their water is clean and encourages those experiencing issues to reach out.
"Our water quality does meet or exceed the state and federal standards. We do issue a field activity, have operators go out and investigate if there are concerns,” said company president Justin Kersey.
At the workshop, other customers brought up issues regarding billing. One local church said they pay over $200 for water, when they are only open one full day a week.
"I came down here to find out why our water rate is so high, and we are only using the building Sunday, maybe Monday and Tuesday nights for the Boy Scouts and the Cub Scouts,” said head trustee for Oakwood United Methodist Church, Tim Cunningham. “Our water bill is probably around $230 bucks a month for the church and there is hardly anyone there."
Residents say they have a $74 fee each month before they even use any water. This fee on top of the high prices makes it very difficult for many to pay, especially those on low-incomes.
"Nine-five percent of my people over there are elderly. So some of them, like I said, some of them pay less in rent than what they do on their water. So they only take a shower once a week or they don't wanna do their dishes, or flush their toilet, because they are afraid to use the water,” explained Morgan.
Prairie Path Water Company provides a low-income rate for those who may be struggling to pay their standard prices. To apply for the low-income rate, you can click here or email lowincomerate@prairiepath.com