Oakwood residents voice concerns over cost, quality of water

OAKWOOD, Ill. (WCIA) — People in one Vermilion County village are upset with higher water bills, and some also aren’t happy with the quality.

Oakwood’s provider, Prairie Path Water, held an annual customer outreach meeting Thursday in the village, where they heard some of those concerns. Some residents said their bills are simply too high. The price of water, and the quality of what is paid for, was a main topic of discussion in Oakwood Thursday afternoon. The meeting was an annual customer outreach session to update customers on projects, billing, and general treatment.

“Man, that sounds like you guys have just filled up the bureaucratic levels there too,” said Mike Watson during the meeting.

The company held a similar event last year, and some people in town, like Watson, are unhappy that it’s been an ongoing issue since then.

“The water tastes lousy, for one, and I don’t think the quality is there,” he added.

Watson said he avoids drinking water from the tap for that reason.

“I buy reverse osmosis water from the local grocery store,” he said. “But my animals, I give them a four-stage, put a four-stage filter on the tap, and that’s what they get.”

Others at the meeting shared concerns over monthly water bills.

“I feel more concern for the elderly people, and therefore, maybe they are not doing things that they normally do daily because of worry about the water bill,” said one customer.

“And here, my minimum, I’m paying over 100 dollars,” said another customer. “Yeah, that’s crazy.”

In response to those concerns from Watson and others, Prairie Path President Justin Kersey said:

“Treated water put out in this system meets or exceeds state and federal standards. If he’s having water quality issues, many times it could be internal plumbing.”

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