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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From the dogs to cooking to her array of beverage machines, Donna Bell uses bottled water for everything in her house, except bathing, despite paying big 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.

The University Park resident does not trust water supplied by Aqua Illinois. Bell and others have been using bottled water since lead was discovered in 2019. And now, there is a new problem.

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The private water supplier is handing out free bottled water again in University Park after high levels of nitrates were detected following large rainfalls in the Kankakee River. Peotone and parts of Kankakee are also being impacted.

“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.

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