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'Pink' water tint forces emergency water order in Alexis, Illinois

Residents are left to rely on bottled water from the village for their supply.

ALEXIS, Ill. —

Update - 2/19

The "do not consume" order has been lifted by Alexis officials after EPA testing results report that the water is safe again.

Original Story

The village of Alexis issued a do not consume order on their water supply Tuesday, Feb. 15, after residents noticed a pink tint to their tap water.

"We don't know what caused it," said Alexis Mayor Rick Benson. "We are in touch with the EPA."

The EPA came to Alexis Wednesday to take samples on their water supply. Until the water supply is safe to drink, free water bottles are available at Alexis Village Hall.

"We got some water donated and we're handing it out for those people that want it," Benson said. "It's been a pretty good stream of people coming through picking it up to date."

Alexis resident, Larry Olson said he is experiencing problems without tap water.

"I had a Pepsi last night with my supper and I didn't want to drink Pepsi this morning," Olson said. "I had to get water somewhere. You know? We had a few bottles of water around."

Olson, who has lived in Alexis his entire life, said these type of things may be related to the age of the area. 

"I think...everything is old around here," Olson said. "We look at two buildings and everything is old. The water system is old. Everything is old. And I think that's the problem."

But Mayor Benson is hopeful things will return to normal in the next few days.

"We want to get to the bottom of this, just so that the people here in town have confidence in their drinking water," Benson said. "I mean, everybody wants to be able to turn the tap on and get a drink of water."

Results from the EPA's test should arrive in the next 48 hours.

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