Mayor Jospeh Roudez III of University Park seeks to reacquire water rights from Aqua Illinois following the discovery of elevated nitrate levels.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. (WLS) — Residents in the village of University Park have been dealing with water problems for years.

They blame a private utility that supplies water in this area and, once again, is providing free bottled water.

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Donna Bell relies on bottled water for nearly all her household needs, from caring for her dogs to cooking and using her various beverage machines, although she avoids using it for bathing. This is despite the fact that she pays substantial water bills every month.

“And I have a water flosser to do my teeth with, and I put bottled water in it, because I don’t trust it,” Bell said.

Living in University Park, Bell harbors distrust towards the water provided by Aqua Illinois. Since lead contamination was found in 2019, both Bell and others in her area have opted for bottled water. A new issue has now arisen.

The private water company is once again distributing free bottled water in University Park after detecting high nitrate levels in the water. This contamination occurred due to significant rainfalls in the Kankakee River, affecting Peotone and sections of Kankakee as well.

“We saw runoff from spring agricultural fertilization getting into the river, which elevates nitrates in the river,” said Aqua Illinois President David Carter.

Aqua Illinois says infants under the age of 6 months should not use the water. But given the history of the water, many adults refuse to risk it.

“It’s really unacceptable. We should have had good water all this time,” said resident William Holloway.

The village sold its water rights to Aqua Illinois decades ago, well before Jospeh Roudez III became mayor.

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“We need control of our system. It’s never going to change,” Roudez said.

The mayor told residents on Monday morning that he is making an effort to buy the water back, which, Roudez admits, could cost millions of dollars, funds the village does not have.

“My ask of the company is to come to the table and give us the opportunity to purchase back the water rights,” Roudez said.

Carter strongly doubts that will ever happen. Despite the lack of trust from residents, he insists his company is a strong advocate for clean water.

“We hear the mayor’s concerns. We hear the residents’ concerns. We take them very seriously,” Carter said.

Aqua Illinois says the latest problem is likely to be solved within a day or two. In the meantime, the mayor has reached out to Illinois’ governor and attorney general to seek their help in trying to buy the water back.