The state’s Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday asked the Illinois attorney general to step in and force a mobile home park outside Heyworth to clean up its water supply.
The water system that serves 30 homes at the Country Lane Mobile Home Park is contaminated with e. coli, the Illinois EPA said in a statement. Concerns about the water supply first surfaced in May, and a boil order was issued soon after. But additional testing last week confirmed continued contamination.
The Illinois EPA alleges that the mobile home park’s owners, John and Kelly Theobald, violated Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations and the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
The EPA is asking the attorney general’s office to seek an injunctive court order requiring Country lane to immediately clean up the bacterial contamination, distribute bottled water to its residents, and begin continuous chlorination of the water produced and supplied to customers moving forward.
The McLean County Health Department worked with a volunteer organization Aug. 24 to distribute bottled water to residents.
“The Agency will continue working with state and local officials to ensure the water consumers are kept informed of the situation and of any actions they need to take,” the Illinois EPA said in its statement.
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