In 'bird city' Chicago suburb, toxic chemicals found at nature preserve

Since at least the early 1980s, tens of thousands of people have flocked to an expansive nature preserve in Homewood where they can see more than 100 kinds of birds.

Nature lovers trek to Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve in the south suburb in hopes of getting a peek at such birds as the once-threatened bald eagle, an endangered black-crowned night heron, a yellow-bellied sapsucker and a hairy woodpecker. In June, it was announced that Homewood had been named a "bird city," a designation given by the American Bird Conservancy based on criteria that only 10 Illinois municipalities have met.

But, about four years ago, David Zaber, an environmental scientist who lives in Homewood, noticed a brownish-orange color in one of the ponds at the preserve that comprises more than 190 acres. He compared Google Earth images taken over a period of years to discover the discoloring of the water beginning in 2005.

Tests at the pond on the northwest portion of the preserve confirmed Zaber’s fear: It had high levels of a class of chemicals known as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons that are potentially harmful to humans and animals.

Of particular concern, anyone eating fish from the pond would face a health risk, as would dogs, Zaber says. Heavy metals including lead and chromium were detected there, along with oils and grease.

The problems have persisted, according to Zaber, because of ineffective responses from local and state officials.

“This is a total disregard for the health and safety of people here,” he says. “This is not acceptable.”

There hasn't been a similar discoloring at Prairie Lakes — the largest body of water and a popular fishing spot at the preserve. But Zaber worries that it could be contaminated, too, if the source of pollution isn’t found and dealt with.

Zaber, who has since become an Izaak Walton Preserve board member, sounded the alarm about the chemicals.

Homewood officials at first downplayed the problems, he says, but agreed to try to contain the pollution with the help of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

A spokeswoman says the agency will meet with Homewood officials.

Several years after he first raised concerns, Zaber, other Homewood residents and the Izaak Walton board, which manages the preserve, are still trying to get answers.

“It involves a failure of local government to enforce the law and a failure of state government to monitor compliance,” Zaber says. “That has resulted in citizens, wildlife [and] pets being put at risk of exposure to toxic chemicals.”

The source of the color as well as an oily film is a stormwater outflow owned by Homewood that collects water from nearby businesses including Homewood Disposal, a garbage and recycling business that referred questions to Homewood officials. The outflow is the responsibility of the Homewood village government.

The Izaak Walton Preserve board wants Homewood to do more to clean up the pond, starting with additional environmental testing.

“There’s a variety of opinions of how dangerous this is right now,” says John Brinkman, the board's president. “It is illegal. It needs to be dealt with.”

To people who live nearby and frequent the preserve, it's a suburban oasis that, with its five miles of hiking trails, provided an outdoor escape during the COVID-19 pandemic and offers a peaceful getaway.

David Sacks, who lives in neighboring Flossmoor, says he has been taking his 10-year-old son Avery to the preserve for years.

“We walk our dog there," says Sacks, who says he's concerned for his family's safety. "It’s absolutely one of our favorite places in Homewood. Our son will sometimes catch a frog out of the water.”

Napoleon Haney, Homewood's village manager, says he’s listening to the concerns but doesn’t have the expertise and can’t speak for the village’s previous reaction.

“I’m not sure what was done in the past,” says Haney, who's been in that post since late 2021. “I said, 'Let’s get the [state] involved.' We’re not scientists. But the village should be responsible.”

Records provided by Zaber show the state previously was involved, having ordered booms to contain some of the discharge.

Today, though, the booms appear damaged and no longer containing any material in a pool of rust-colored water.

The stormwater discharge includes runoff from nearby Homewood Disposal. The runoff includes no landfill or other large-scale environmental hazard.

Zaber says a cabinet company used to dump glue in what's now the preserve when he was in high school in the 1970s.

In addition to fish, the preserve is home to frogs and other amphibians, beavers and the many birds, which Zaber says are all at risk.

“Homewood has gotten away for 20 years with this dangerous, illegal pollution at the most popular park in the region,” he says. “Every aquatic thing is at risk.”