The City of Rockford says the water it provides residents is clean. The City’s Water Division was responding to published reports that it says may have left the false impression city water in one area is contaminated.
The Water Division says it began remediation efforts in the Southeast Rockford Superfund Area in 1989 after finding elevated levels of volatile organic compounds in the groundwater. It installed equipment at a local well to remove the compounds. It says, since then, more than 800 homes have been connected to the city water system at no charge to the owners, giving them access to clean treated water. But it says some owners chose to not to connect to the system and instead continue using private wells.
The division says water provided by the city throughout the community complies with all regulatory standards. It says it continues to work with the Illinois and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies to monitor wells in the Superfund Area as well as on getting the remaining homes connected to city water.