Broaderick is a typical 5-year-old who can rattle off all the features of his favorite video games. But, earlier this month when he was feeling sick, he didn't want to talk about games. Instead, he said something he's never said before.

"I want to go to the doctor," his mother, Amber Gifford said. "And so when he said he wanted to go to the doctor, that had me scared."

He had been complaining of a stomachache, one that would lead to a surgeon. They found it was his appendix.

Gifford says, while in a hospital in Springfield, two other patients from Mountain Grove also were getting appendectomys. She says she has heard of so many similar stories that she is concerned the culprit could be the city's drinking water, and she believes city leaders aren't forthcoming about addressing residents' concerns.

The mayor declined an on-camera interview but he did say Mountain Grove's water is safe, and he believes it's just a few people blowing this issue out of proportion.

Last month the Department of Natural Resources issued the city a letter of warning, stating the public water failed to meet the micro biological maximum contaminant level several times over the course of the year. On Aug. 14, the department issued a boil order that was lifted on Aug. 21.

The order was put in place based on information from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which found there to be reports of gastrointestinal illness above the level normally expected for the number of people in Mountain Grove. The department also found there a link between illness and drinking tap water, though the findings do not point to a specific contaminant.

"It's a pretty low probability," DNR spokeswoman, Cindy Davies said, "but the health department has a study that shows it's a possibility and so we need to take action."

Davies says the city has taken measures to ensure safe drinking water, including adding chlorination to all wells. Gifford knows about the chlorination, but she says she is still not convinced the water is safe and doesn't want to take any chances, considering what could have happened to her son.

"If it could have burst before we got in there," Gifford said. "It could have been fatal."

After the last boil order was issued, DNR collected 30 water samples throughout the town. All came back showing no problems with the water supply.