UPDATE:  June 13, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. CST – Drinking Water Alert for Infants Lifted 

In consultation with Illinois EPA, Aqua Illinois is lifting the drinking water advisory issued on June 7, 2025, for infants under six months old. Customers can now resume normal use of their drinking water.  River nitrate levels, and those at the monitoring location required by the Illinois EPA are below the required level. Internal monitoring data has corroborated that all other monitoring locations are also under the nitrate limit. The advisory for infants under six months old for all municipalities is no longer in effect.

There will be no more bottled water distribution. 

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked to resolve this unprecedented incident.  

 Aqua Illinois levanta la recomendación de precaución respecto al consumo de agua potable para los bebés menores de 6 meses. Los clients pueden reanudar el uso normal del agua potable.  Si tiene preguntas o comentarios sobre este informe en español, favor de llamar al tel. 1.877.987.2782 para hablar con una persona bilingüe en español.  

Drinking Water Alert for Infants 

Due to recent rains combined with spring agricultural fertilization, nitrate levels increased in the Kankakee River impacting some customers served by our Kankakee Water Treatment Plant. 

As a result, Aqua Illinois has issued a drinking water alert for customers with infants served by our Kankakee Water Treatment Plant due to unprecedented levels of nitrate in the Kankakee River. This includes customers served by our Kankakee, Peotone, and University Park systems. Recent water samples show elevated levels of nitrates, which may be harmful to infants under six months. Adults and children older than six months old MAY STILL drink the water, however, if you are pregnant or have specific health concerns, you may wish to consult your doctor. 

Aqua’s systems were working as designed, and the company continues to monitor the nitrate level in the water.  

Here's the most important information:  

• What Happened: 
  • Due to recent rains combined with spring agricultural fertilization, nitrate levels increased in the Kankakee River impacting customers withinfants served by our Kankakee Water Treatment Plant.   
• What You Need to Do:  
  • DO NOT GIVE THE WATER TO INFANTS under six months of age. Use bottled water for formula preparation.  
  • Los niños menores de 6 meses de edad no deben beber el agua. No use el agua para preparar la fórmula para bebés (biberón). 
  • Water, juice, and formula for children under six months of age should not be prepared with tap water. Bottled water or other water low in nitrates should be used for infants until further notice.  
  • DO NOT BOIL THE WATER, as excessive boiling can worsen elevated nitrate levels.   
• What to Look Out For:  
  • Infants under six months of age could experience shortness of breath and blue color on the skin. If you notice this, seek medical attention immediately.  
• What to Expect Next:  
  • We believe recent rains combined with spring agricultural fertilization have led to unprecedented nitrate levels. We are actively monitoring the nitrate levels from the river. We will continue to provide updates as quickly as possible and will alert customers when they can resume normal use of their water. 
  • Bottled water will be available for families with infants starting Sunday between 12:00pm to 7:00pm throughout the rest of the event. Water will be available at three locations: 
    • 1000 S. Schuyler Ave., Kankakee, IL 60901 
    • 1737 E. Amberstone Rd., Manteno, IL 60950 
    • 24650 S Western Avenue, University Park, Il 60484 

Municipalities Affected by this notice: 

1. KankakeeMunicipalities served: City of Kankakee, Village of Bourbonnais, Village of Aroma Park, Village of Bradley, Village of Grant Park, Village of Limestone, Village of Manteno, Village of Peotone, Village of University Park and portions of the townships of Limestone, Bourbonnais, Kankakee, Manteno, Otto, Rockville, St. Anne, Summer, Yellowhead and Aroma. 
2. Peotone Municipalities served: Village of Peotone 
3. University Park Municipalities served: Village of University Park, portions of Green Garden, Crete and Monee townships. 

For more information, contact our customer service team at 877.987.2782. 

Si tiene preguntas o comentarios sobre este informe en español, favor de llamar al tel. 1.877.987.2782 para hablar con una persona bilingüe en español. 

We appreciate your patience, understanding, and cooperation as we work diligently to address this issue.  

You can see the full public notice here. 

This notice may contain required or recommended regulatory language. Nothing herein is, is intended as, nor should be construed as a promise of or contract for payment or reimbursement of expenses incurred for any action you take on account of this notice. 

July 21, 2024 -- Aqua Illinois has successfully repaired a water main break on a transmission main leading to the water tower, which had impacted the water recharging process in Hawthorn Woods. While water service was not disrupted to customers in the Village of Hawthorn Woods, Village of Kildeer, and Lake County, a 24-hour water boil advisory has been issued as a precautionary measure. Aqua is currently conducting water testing, and the advisory will be lifted once samples are confirmed safe. Customers in the affected areas are advised to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation. To boil water, bring it to a boil for five minutes and let it cool before use. We will provide updates directly to customers regarding the lifting of the Boil Water Advisory through our WaterSmart Alerts. Customers can sign up for WaterSmart Alerts by visiting the link below.

July 9, 2024 -- Aqua Illinois has resolved a water main break impacting water service within the Village of Bradley, City of Kankakee, and Village of Bourbonnais, restoring pressure and water service to affected homes. Following an incident involving a construction company striking the water main, 6-8 homes experienced a temporary loss of water service, which has now been restored. As a precaution, these homes are under a 48-hour boil water advisory. Additionally, approximately 5,100 customers in surrounding areas experienced low water pressure, with normal pressure now restored. A 48-hour boil water advisory is also in place for these customers until further notice. Aqua is conducting water testing, and once samples are deemed safe, the boil water advisory will be lifted. Customers within the impacted areas are instructed to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation. Bring water to a boil, boil it for five minutes and let it cool before use. We will update customers directly as we lift Boil Water Advisories through our WaterSmart Alerts. Customers can sign up for WaterSmart Alerts at the link below.

January 30, 2024 at 5:45 p.m. CST -- Over the past few hours, Aqua Illinois has lifted the Boil Water Advisory in our Kankakee system which includes Kankakee, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Grant Park, Manteno, Aroma Park, and Limestone. The decision to end the boil water notice was made after two rounds of testing at over 50 locations. The results of the more than 100 tests, taken 24 hours apart, have conclusively shown that water quality meets standards. Thank you for your patience as we worked to restore clean, safe, reliable water to the community.

Sent January 28, 2024 to customers in Kankakee, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Grant Park, Manteno, Aroma Park, Limestone -- The rapid thaw and heavy rains this week in the Kankakee/University Park region have caused operational challenges in our water plant and distribution system that we’re working hard to address. As a result of increased turbidity (rocks and sediment from our source water based on high flow) in the plant, we are required to issue a Boil Water Notice that impacts customers in the following areas: Kankakee, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Grant Park, Manteno, Aroma Park, Limestone. Aqua advises you to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Bring water to a boil, boil it for five minutes and let it cool before use. We will notify you as soon as it is no longer necessary to boil your water. See the full notice at the link below. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation. Please contact Aqua Customer Service at 877-987-2782 with any questions or concerns.

January 22, 2024 at 4:45 p.m. CST -- Over the past few hours, we have lifted the remaining precautionary Boil Water Advisories in our Danville system. While we did not see any water quality issues in our system, our testing in partnership with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is an important step to ensure the safety of our water. While water pressure continues to improve, we’re asking customers to continue to conserve water so that service returns to normal operating pressure across the system as quickly as possible. We will provide an update when we are back to normal operating levels. Thank you to our customers and community leaders for their patience and partnership as we resolved our operational challenges, and to our Aqua Illinois team who worked around the clock to restore clean, safe, reliable water to the community.

Aqua Illinois Update Updated January 21 at 9:20 p.m. CST -- As water pressure in our Danville system returns to normal, we are testing water in the communities where we’ve issued precautionary Boil Water Advisories. While we did not experience negative water quality impacts at our plant during this incident, our testing and collaboration with the Illinois EPA provides assurance that the water is safe to consume for those previously notified customers. As of 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, January 21, we’ve lifted the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory for customers west of Lowe's, north of Boiling Springs Road to West Newell Road, and North Vermilion to Bowman Avenue in Danville.We are awaiting test results for the other areas under Boil Water Advisories, and we hope to have positive updates for all customers by tomorrow. We will update customers directly as we lift the other Boil Water Advisories through our WaterSmart Alerts, as well as providing a public update.Customers can sign up for WaterSmart Alerts at the link below.