UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. (WLS) — A drinking water alert for infants in parts of the south suburbs was lifted Friday.
Nitrate levels in the Kankakee River water are now below the required level, Aqua Illinois said.
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For years, residents in the village of University Park have been struggling with water issues. They attribute these problems to Aqua Illinois, the private utility responsible for supplying water in their area, which was once again distributing free bottled water last week.
The private water company reported that elevated nitrate levels were found in the water following heavy rains in the Kankakee River. Peotone and sections of Kankakee experienced similar effects.
“We observed runoff from spring agricultural fertilization entering the river, which increases the nitrates in the river,” stated Aqua Illinois President David Carter.
During the alert that has now ended, Aqua Illinois said infants under the age of 6 months should not use the water. But given the history of the water, many adults refused to risk drinking it either.
The village sold its water rights to Aqua Illinois decades ago, well before Jospeh Roudez III became mayor.
“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.
Earlier this week, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said it was “working closely with representatives from Aqua Illinois following the Nitrate detection above the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in the Kankakee River.”
Aqua Illinois’ water bottle distributions have now ended as they say customers can resume consuming drinking water as normal.
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