A major infrastructure project that supplies water to residents, businesses, and hospitals in Chicago’s south suburbs was completed Friday.
Celebrations took place on the border of Chicago and suburban Harvey as local leaders held a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new water main supply on a bridge near 129th and Halsted overlooking the Calumet River.
Officials said the infrastructure is critical as they continue to address the aging infrastructure that cause water main breaks and other issues.
“The replacement of this water main and this $1.7 million investment is an important step in ensuring the future of the city of Harvey has safe, reliable drinking water,” said Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President.
Officials said the aging 12-inch water main was damaged during the winter freeze in 2022, as seen in pictures provided to NBC Chicago.
Since then, Harvey and three other suburban communities have been relying on another line to supply water to residents.
“This is more than just a matter of fixing an infrastructure issue, this is about the health, safety, and wellbeing of everyone that takes part in this particular process,” said Dr. Kisha McCaskill, Cook County Board Commissioner 5th District.
The mayor of Harvey told NBC Chicago the impact would have been catastrophic if the other line went out.
“This water feeds three railroads, it feeds two hospitals and not only imagine, say for instance, a hospital going without water for two months,” said Mayor Christopher Clark. “I want to make it even more personal, imagine you have a family member in that hospital where they haven’t had water in two months.”
Clark said they would have had a crisis on their hands given the scope and magnitude of the service.
The replacement project is part of the Build Up Cook program that helps local municipalities with funding and resources to address critical repairs and replacements for infrastructure and facilities. The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
“We knew that we needed to support them in any way that we could and we were able to get a contract with Aeries INC in order to fix the main, we did some assessment before that as soon as we were able to get that up and running,” explained Drew Williams Clark, Build Up Cook Director.
Since launching in 2023, the Build Up Cook program has invested $11.5 million into drinking water projects. The director told NBC Chicago an overhaul of the aging infrastructure would cost billions of dollars.
As municipalities work to address the problem in the south suburbs, they know this replacement is critical to the future for residents.
“We need to make sure that we are investing the amount into our drinking water infrastructure that we need too in order to make sure that our kids and our grand kids can turn on the faucet and have clean water,” Williams Clark said.