Research discovers mobile home parks lack access to quality water service

Pierce said they chose to focus on mobile home parks because he and Gonzalez think they are an understudied but large portion of California’s population.
Mobile home park water systems comprise 13 percent of all state systems, according to the study.
He said they used public sources and databases to compile data on factors such as the affordability and reliability of mobile home water sources and their compliance with water quality and access laws.
The study found that mobile home parks are more likely than the general population to experience water service shut-offs for more than 24 hours, rely on groundwater and incur more health-related violations.
Pierce said mobile home parks tend to be served by small water systems that are poorly managed by mobile home park managers or landlords.
Landlords failing to pay water bills or neglecting water maintenance often led to most of the water access and quality problems within communities, he said.
Pierce said he thinks one way to address water accessibility issues is to consolidate mobile home park water systems.
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UCLA study highlights water problems in California’s mobile home parks

UCLA researchers found that residents of mobile home parks are four times more likely than the general population to experience a service shutoff of longer than 24 hours.
Although California officially recognizes the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water for all citizens, the Human Right to Water law passed in 2012 has no teeth, according to urban planning researchers at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
“Right now, I don’t think state and local policymakers are focusing nearly enough attention on this issue,” said Pierce, an adjunct assistant professor of urban planning and a senior researcher on water and transportation initiatives at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.
Co-author González, a doctoral student in urban planning and assistant director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at Luskin, said that while the water rights law reinforces the state’s commitment to universal access to clean water, and there are many efforts to implement the law, it does not provide strong enforcement mechanisms or funds for new programs.
Although some existing research broadly suggests that water service and quality in the state’s mobile home parks is substandard, Pierce and González said that a lack of literature and targeted studies on the subject spurred their research.
It is based on a range of quantitative and qualitative sources, including more than 1,300 news reports related to mobile home water access.
The study found that mobile home parks are: likely to incur more health-related violations than other systems four times more likely than the general population to experience a significant service shutoff (more than 24 hours) 40 percent more likely to rely on groundwater, a known risk for reliability and quality In their report, the authors said they were surprised to find that available data on water system reliability suggest that mobile home parks in California are as likely as the general population to be served by community water systems.
The authors pointed out that mobile home parks are more likely to have small water systems, a characteristic well-documented to diminish access.
“A lot of the issues faced by tenants are caused by landlord neglect.” González pointed out that, specifically in Los Angeles, one of the nation’s most unaffordable housing markets, residents also experience the pressures of gentrification and displacement.
“As manufactured housing becomes an increasingly important affordable housing option, policymakers need to ensure these residents aren’t being put at a disproportionate health risk, and address accessibility and affordability issues when they are,” González said.

Puerto Rico’s water woes raise fears of health crisis six weeks after Hurricane Maria

LOIZA, Puerto Rico — Massive damage to Puerto Rico’s water system from Hurricane Maria poses a looming health crisis for island residents exposed to contaminated water, health workers and environmentalists warn.
At least 74 suspected cases of leptospirosis, a dangerous bacteria, have been reported, including two deaths.
“The drinking water system in Puerto Rico was already very fragile,” Olson said.
Alicea said he is not worried about a health crisis because with each delivery, municipal workers emphasize the importance of drinking bottled water.
Iricelis Ortiz, 42, said municipal officials have yet to pass through her neighborhood, so residents organized a committee to ask the city for what they need.
Ortiz worries that the bad-tasting, blue-colored water that runs in her pipes is unsafe.
They had tried boiling it, but “it tasted weird,” Ortiz said.
“While boiling is an easy way to decontaminate water, most people I spoke to either didn’t (have) electricity or cooking gas to get that done,” he said.
Llamara Padró, a nurse at New York’s Upstate University Hospital, who volunteered with a group of 40 nurses organized by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said they treated people with gastrointestinal symptoms and conjunctivitis.
“It’s right now a public health crisis,” said Padró, whose group worked in more than a dozen communities across Puerto Rico.

Students, staff rallied during water crisis

Victor Cardenas, assistant city manager for the city of Novi, was on the phone letting me know that there had been a massive water main break and that the city was experiencing a water emergency.
Closing the schools was not only the best option, it was the only option that day.
Novi now had water pressure throughout the city, but it was not as strong as it was before the water main break.
Water was still not safe to drink.
For the Novi Community School District, closing Oct. 24 used up one of those emergency days.
When word came late Oct. 24 that Novi had water pressure but the water was still not safe to drink, a decision had to be made.
Will students be safe as they walk to and from school?
The water emergency was a bit different.
The focus was, as it always is, on safety — for our students and our staff.
But instead of the weather, the decision revolved around whether or not we could hold school without drinking water.

Harborough Rotary Club helps create clean water supply for Tanzanian village

The village of Oldonywas, in northern Tanzania, lies on the slopes of Mount Meru and is about 35km from the city of Arusha and although it had access to water, this had a very high fluoride content and was not suitable for drinking.
Market Harborough Rotary Club worked with its twin club in Bjerringbro, Denmark, and the Rotary Club of Arusha Mount Meru in Tanzania, to raise money and apply for a grant from Rotary International which paid for 32km of pipes, three water tanks and the digging of an 18km trench which keeps elephants away from the new water supply.
The project cost about $88,325 (about £66,000) in total.
At the opening celebration ceremony for the new water system, in Oldonywas, councillors, school pupils and residents thanked the Rotary clubs involved, the project supervisors and volunteers.
A troupe of Maasai people performed a welcome dance at the ceremony.
The Rotary clubs of Market Harborough and Bjerringbro have been twinned for more than 45 years.
A memorial has now been painted on one of the water tanks which shows the names of the three Rotary clubs who took part including Harborough’s.
A spokesman for the Harborough Rotary Club said: “Rotarians in Market Harborough are proud and delighted that the project has been successful.
“This is just one of many projects which Rotarians all over the world accomplish by working together.
“The Market Harborough club also has its name on memorial plaques in four other places: classrooms in Qua Zulu Natal, a solar powered water pump in Malawi, dormitories in Gil Gil orphanage, Kenya ,and a girls’ residential school in Chennai, India.” To find out more about how to join Rotary phone the Market Harborough club secretary on 01858 432370.

Students, staff rallied during water crisis

Victor Cardenas, assistant city manager for the city of Novi, was on the phone letting me know that there had been a massive water main break and that the city was experiencing a water emergency.
Closing the schools was not only the best option, it was the only option that day.
Novi now had water pressure throughout the city, but it was not as strong as it was before the water main break.
Water was still not safe to drink.
For the Novi Community School District, closing Oct. 24 used up one of those emergency days.
When word came late Oct. 24 that Novi had water pressure but the water was still not safe to drink, a decision had to be made.
Will students be safe as they walk to and from school?
The water emergency was a bit different.
The focus was, as it always is, on safety — for our students and our staff.
But instead of the weather, the decision revolved around whether or not we could hold school without drinking water.

Protocol signed to provide drinking water, sanitation services

CAIRO – 2 November 2017: A cooperation protocol will be signed between the Ministry of Solidarity and the Holding Company for Drinking Water and Sanitation to provide drinking water and sanitation to Upper Egypt.
This comes under the “decent housing” initiative adopted by the Ministry of Social Solidarity to improve the environmental and health situations of vulnerable families.
This initiative aims to provide drinking water and sanitation services, as well as promote the infrastructure of houses.
According to the protocol, proper funding will be given to several NGOs to supply those lacking access to safe, readily available water and safely managed sanitation in villages in Upper Egypt.
The NGOs aim to implement the proper pipelines and sanitation systems needed for pure, drinking water.
“Financing contracts will also be signed with NGOs as the Ministry of Social Solidarity believes in the concept and the value of social responsibility to support communities and finance charitable, productive, health, educational and developmental projects,” said Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly.
Many Egyptians, especially in rural areas and slums, lack access to adequate sanitation and clean water as their dwellings are not connected to the water system.
There are many villages in rural Egypt that continue to rely on water delivery and waste disposal systems that are outdated, unhygienic, and therefore, unsafe.
As a result, the situation with regard to safe drinking water, household sanitation, and the environment within these communities is far from satisfactory.
Consequently, Egypt, with the cooperation of numerous NGOs, could implement around 8,000 household connections, reaching an estimated 40,000 people in rural areas of the governorates of Assiut, Sohag and Qena, and in two poor informal settlements in the Cairo governorate between 2013 and 2016, according to a UNICEF report.

Puerto Rico’s water woes raise fears of health crisis six weeks after Hurricane Maria

LOIZA, Puerto Rico — Massive damage to Puerto Rico’s water system from Hurricane Maria poses a looming health crisis for island residents exposed to contaminated water, health workers and environmentalists warn.
At least 74 suspected cases of leptospirosis, a dangerous bacteria, have been reported, including two deaths.
“We’re worried that in places even that have running water whether that water is safe,” said Erik Olson, health program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The drinking water system in Puerto Rico was already very fragile,” Olson said.
Alicea said he is not worried about a health crisis because with each delivery, municipal workers emphasize the importance of drinking bottled water.
(Photo: Atabey Nuñez for USA TODAY) Ortiz worries that the bad-tasting, blue-colored water that runs in her pipes is unsafe.
They had tried boiling it, but “it tasted weird,” Ortiz said.
(Photo: handout, Erika P. Rodriguez) “Over the past two weeks, we’ve seen a continuous stream of adult and pediatric patients with gastrointestinal illness, most often involving fever, vomiting and diarrhea,” said Christopher Tedeschi, an emergency medicine physician at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, who returned Thursday from Puerto Rico.
Llamara Padró, a nurse at New York’s Upstate University Hospital, who volunteered with a group of 40 nurses organized by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said they treated people with gastrointestinal symptoms and conjunctivitis.
“It’s right now a public health crisis,” said Padró, whose group worked in more than a dozen communities across Puerto Rico.

Boil Water Alert Risdon Vale

TasWater continue to advise consumers in Risdon Vale that they should boil their drinking water until further notice.
This advice has been issued following routine water sampling which indicates irregularities in the quality of the water supply involving the presence of E. coli.
TasWater have alerted their customers to the process of treating any water for drinking, brushing teeth, washing and preparing food or beverages, preparing baby formula and making ice.
They say you should bring water to a boil by heating the water until a continuous and rapid stream of air‐bubbles is produced from the bottom of a pan or kettle.
After heating, water must be allowed to cool before using it and can be stored in a clean, closed container for later use.
TasWater have also pointed out that unboiled water is suitable for showering and bathing (avoid swallowing water).
As a precaution babies and toddlers should be spongebathed to prevent them swallowing water.
Unboiled is also suitable for washing dishes by hand or in a dishwasher, providing dishes are air‐dried before being used after washing and for washing clothes.
Animals typically have access to, and consume, non‐potable water from a range of other sources (puddles, watercourses, dams, toilets.).
Any health concerns can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services on 1800 671 738 and you can stay up to date via the TasWater website Below is the area affected :

Oakland parents, activists call on schools to get the lead out of water

Oakland parents and community activists called on school officials Wednesday to adopt a policy that ensures students have access to safe drinking water, an outcry spurred by test results showing faucets at seven school sites had high levels of lead.
“We’re talking about the water in schools being dangerous to our kids,” said Vien Truong, an Oakland mother whose child is in kindergarten.
“We know we have pipes that are very old.” Test results released to The Chronicle last week showed that taps at seven Oakland schools dispensed water with lead levels higher than the 15 parts per billion allowed under federal guidelines.
“This is an emergency,” Sylvester Hodges, a former school board member, said at a news conference in City Hall.
Representatives of the consumer rights group CalPIRG and other activists called on the district to replace all pipes and fixtures that contain lead, which could include any plumbing installed before 2010.
They also asked for filters on drinking water taps and regular testing for lead.
Torres said she’d like to follow the example set by the San Diego school district, where officials limit lead levels to a maximum of 5 parts per billion rather than the 15 set by federal guidelines.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that school water contain less than 1 part per billion of lead, said Jason Pfeifle, a CalPIRG health advocate.
Lead is a toxic metal that can cause irreversible neurological and brain damage, including lowering a child’s IQ, said Dr. Noemi Spinazzi, a pediatric physician at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
San Francisco found three school sites with elevated levels of lead, including one water fountain in the San Francisco International High School gym that had 860 parts per billion.