I can’t keep up with ALL the news

April 30th, 2009 at 07:12am Jennie Pollock

But some people have not heard about the problem in Crestwood, a Chicago suburb found to have secretly pumped water from a contaminated well for more than two decades – to save money. According to the Chicago Tribune:

As village officials were building a national reputation for pinching pennies, and sending out fliers proclaiming Crestwood water was “Good to taste but not to waste!,” state and village records obtained by the newspaper show they secretly were drawing water from a contaminated well, apparently to save money.

Officials kept using the well even though state environmental officials told them at least 22 years ago that dangerous chemicals related to a dry-cleaning solvent had oozed into the water, records show.The village avoided scrutiny by telling state regulators in 1986 that they would get all of their tap water from Lake Michigan, and would use the well only in an emergency. But records show Crestwood kept drawing well water on a routine basis—relying on it for up to 20 percent of the village’s water supply some months.

The well wasn’t shut off for good until December 2007, after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency tested the water for the first time in more than 20 years. The agency found not only that the well was still contaminated but that Crestwood had been piping the water, untreated, to residents.

This week, the EPA has raided Crestwood’s files. It’s not clear whether anyone’s health has been affected by the practice.

Entry Filed under: Pollution, In the news