Citizens for clean water - Sycamore was started by a group of neighbors who experienced discolored, foul smelling water in their homes and wondered if they were the only ones in town having these issues. They started posting on Facebook and found very quickly that they were not alone.

The need for clean, safe drinking water is one of the most fundamental human needs. Every Citizen of Sycamore deserves clean and safe water.

Sycamore’s water delivery system is many years beyond it’s safe service life. 38% of the water mains are more than 75 years old. Independent water testing has shown that every elementary school in Sycamore has lead levels that are elevated at what the EPA calls an “actionable” level. The testing has also shown chlorine levels at the tap that are too low to effectively kill bacteria and viruses. These are all symptoms of a corroded, deteriorated and failing water delivery system.

Our water is safe when it comes out of the wells, but by the time it travels through the old infrastructure it has become contaminated. Citizens that live in newer subdivisions are not immune to this issue. Water has to travel through aged pipes to reach those homes too.

No level of lead is safe. Health implications of lead poisoning are well documented and include ADHD intellectual disability, mood disorders, convulsions, coma and death in children. In adults, decreased cognitive ability, dementia, kidney cancers are common.

Please join us in advocating for the replacement of the miles and miles of old water mains that provide us all with our drinking water. We need to let our city leaders know this is the highest priority for our tax dollars because nothing else matters if our children are harmed just from drinking water.