Authors: Steven Graves and Todd Feurer

Chicago (CBS)-They have been waiting anxiously for this moment for a week. People in the southern suburbs of Dixmoor finally have near-normal water pressure. In the case of insufficient water pressure, they can shower and wash dishes in more than a week.

Steven Graves of CBS 2 reported that they still cannot believe that the improved water pressure will continue because the recent repairs are only temporary and the boiling order is still in effect.

At least for now, there is some relief.

This is what Cynthia Mossuto has wanted to see and hear for a week.

"We went from a trickle to a better stream," she said.

She can now shower, wash clothes, wash dishes, and can live in her own home.

"Until you don't have water, people won't realize the necessity of water," she said.

Now, for the thousands of Dixmoor residents, their water pressure is close to normal, and they can only get a little water at most since last Saturday.

"It's working now. I'll come over and take a look," said village chief Fitzgerald Roberts.

Roberts said the improvement in water pressure was the result of temporary installations on fire hydrants, which were used to divert water from the neighboring Blue Island.

"Hope this is a short-term solution. Pray, maybe we can move to the Blue Island to get water," Roberts said.

Cook County leaders said on Saturday that they believe the main water supply problem lies in Harvey, the only water supplier in Dixmoor.

Cook County's Executive Director of Emergency Management and Regional Security Bill Barnes said: "This is a temporary repair program that allows engineers to diagnose Harvey's main management problem." The company is helping Dixmoor officials with repair work.

Roberts said that Friday staff identified the "gate valve" failure as a possible cause of the low water pressure in Dixmoor since last Saturday. He said that Harvey's water mains supplying Dixmoor broke, causing a valve in the main water supply line to close. This more than 100-year-old valve was obviously broken when it was reopened.

The staff dug up that pipe and cut it open at work on Saturday so that they can plug in cameras to locate the exact source of the problem.

But Harvey officials continue to insist that the problem lies in the Dixmoor pipeline, not their pipeline. They provided a video on Friday. They said that a water pipe in a wooded area of ​​the village broke and leaked hundreds of gallons of water every minute. .

Roberts and Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims stated that although water pressure has been a major issue in Dixmoor village in the past week, their water pipe problems can be traced back to at least 15-20 years throughout the southern suburbs. Before, because many pipelines are more than 100 years old and are corroding.

"This is not just a Dixmoor problem. This is a problem for the entire southern suburban community. Robbins has a problem, and Ford Heights has a problem," Sims said. "They want to know why the water bills in these communities are so high. The reason why the water bills are so high is that water seeps into the ground."

Roberts said it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when and where the underground pipeline leaked.

"You can never just find a leak. You have to wait for the leak to appear. How does it show itself? It explodes from the ground. Other than that, you don't know what the leak is," he said.

Sims estimates that the $1 billion that Cook County received from the Federal U.S. Rescue Program will be used to repair all aging and leaking water pipes in the southern suburbs.

"So Cook County can't do it alone, we can't put all of our $1 billion into the pipeline. So we need state government money, we need federal government money, we need MWRD [Metropolitan Water Reclamation District] money," she Say. "It will require all of us to work together to figure out how we can help the community through Cook County, not just Dixmoor."

At the same time, residents can still use the three nearby forest reserve campsites for showers, which are temporary restoration measures: Camp Sullivan, Camp Shabbona Woods and Camp Bullfrog Lake.

But, for now, the water of gratitude is back from people like Mossuto.

"It's so exciting! You know, you always say,'Oh, man, let's get started,'" Mossuto said.

She hopes her so-called water problems in the town for many years will get more attention.

"I won't put the blame on anyone. I just want to blame them that it should be repaired, they should repair it two years ago," she said.

Due to the back and forth or blame game between Dixmoor and Harvey's officials, many people still don't know when a permanent repair will occur, or how long this temporary relief will last.

Recently, there have been reports that as the reservoir is filling up, the water pressure from Harvey has increased. Businesses can open, but schools may still conduct e-learning on Monday. The village hall continues to provide bottled water for residents in need.