CRESTWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Hundreds of outraged residents packed a community meeting Saturday to confront village officials about allegations that they knowingly drew drinking water from a contaminated well for more than two decades.
During a meeting called to discuss the findings of a Chicago Tribune investigation published earlier this month, Mayor Robert Stranczek insisted the village's drinking water was safe.
The newspaper found that officials in Crestwood, a suburb south of Chicago, knowingly drew drinking water from a well that state environmental officials had said contained dangerous chemicals related to a dry-cleaning solvent.
"Here's what I can tell you about our water: Our water has always been safe to drink," Stranczek said, quoting an April 20 release from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. "I can tell you the water is safe today, will be safe tomorrow and will be safe into the future."
At least 200 people attended the meeting. Some defended village leaders, while others demanded to know why officials didn't tell residents about the contamination. Many later said they didn't get a satisfactory answer.
"If they were told to stop using the well water, they should have stopped using the well water," said Harold Brady, a 20-year Crestwood resident.
According to the Tribune, records show that EPA officials cited contaminated tap water in Crestwood in the mid-1980s, saying it contained chemicals linked to perchloroethylene, or PCE, which is believed to cause cancer.
The newspaper reported that village officials told state regulators they would use water from Lake Michigan, but the village of about 11,000 continued to draw from the contaminated well. It said that at times, up to 20 percent of the village's water supply came from the well and that officials touted the village's cheap water rates during the two decades.
The well was not shut off until late 2007, after EPA officials tested the water and found contamination.
Stranczek said Saturday the well was used only for "emergency backup purposes."
"No one in the village of Crestwood government, past or present, would ever intentionally allow a hazard to threaten our community," he said.
After a separate meeting with Crestwood residents Saturday, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said he would ask the Justice Department to investigate village officials' response to the alleged contamination.
At least one Crestwood resident has filed a lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, based on the newspaper's findings.
On Friday, Gov. Pat Quinn's administration called for increased testing of drinking water.
The governor also wants to make it a felony to make false statements in the annual reports required by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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