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.

California Mobile Home Park Residents Face Barriers to Clean Water

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Many of the more than one million Californians who live in mobile home parks drink water that is more polluted and more likely to be cut off than residents who get water from other municipal utilities, according to the most detailed research to date on water access in California trailer parks.
Water service and quality in mobile home parks is “terribly neglected,” according to Greg Pierce, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles and lead author of the study, which was published on October 4 in the journal Environmental Justice.
By analyzing state drinking water data from 2010 to 2014, Pierce and Silvia Gonzalez, a coauthor, showed that mobile home parks had more frequent water quality violations: one-third exceeded at least one drinking water health standard in those years compared to one-quarter of other water systems.
Using federal housing data, the researchers found that residents of mobile home parks were four times more likely to have water cut off than those served by other systems.
That study, led by Pierce and published in 2015, found that mobile home park residents were nearly three times more likely to have water service cut off than residents served by other municipal systems.
For this study, Pierce and Gonzalez evaluated mobile home park water service on quality, reliability, and affordability, which are the three tent poles of the right-to-water law.
Publicly regulated systems in California serve 15 or more connections.
There are a number of policy prescriptions available to remedy poor service and water quality in mobile home parks, Pierce said.
The State Water Board has made progress on this point.
He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news.

California Mobile Home Park Residents Face Barriers to Clean Water

Water service and quality in mobile home parks is “terribly neglected,” according to Greg Pierce, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles and lead author of the study, which was published on October 4 in the journal Environmental Justice.
By analyzing state drinking water data from 2010 to 2014, Pierce and Silvia Gonzalez, a coauthor, showed that mobile home parks had more frequent water quality violations: one-third exceeded at least one drinking water health standard in those years compared to one-quarter of other water systems. Using federal housing data, the researchers found that residents of mobile home parks were four times more likely to have water cut off than those served by other systems.
That study, led by Pierce and published in 2015, found that mobile home park residents were nearly three times more likely to have water service cut off than residents served by other municipal systems.
For this study, Pierce and Gonzalez evaluated mobile home park water service on quality, reliability, and affordability, which are the three tent poles of the right-to-water law.
Publicly regulated systems in California serve 15 or more connections.
There are a number of policy prescriptions available to remedy poor service and water quality in mobile home parks, Pierce said.
The State Water Board has made progress on this point.

Water contamination advisories issued for 5 areas in Sleeping Bear Dunes

Water contamination advisories issued for 5 areas in Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is posting signs warning people that water quality advisories have been issued for five sites within the park’s boundaries.
Elevated bacteria levels were measured late last week at the sprawling park, headquartered in Empire.
The river and creek outlet contamination does not extend into the larger, connecting Lake Michigan, according to information from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The contamination spots are listed on the DEQ’s Beach Guard site.
Friday, the man and his wife were playing nine holes with several church couples at Arbor Hills Golf Club in Spring Arbor Township, as they often did.
She had some broken ribs and bleeding in her skull, said Veydt, who went to the hospital Friday to pray with the couple and their family.
"They are humble, Christian people and they have served in our church for many, many years."
The 80-year-old is also a church elder.
Friday, their companions from the course accompanied them to the hospital.

Atlanta Takes Next Step On Cook Park ‘Journey’

Cook Park, in Vine City, will have statues honoring Civil Rights leaders.
It’s also being built to alleviate flooding on the Westside.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the park will be a new Atlanta landmark.
“On nights that the Falcons football games are being broadcast, when the Goodyear blimp goes up and shows a visual of the city, it will show this park,” Reed said.
Ambassador Andrew Young was at Friday’s event.
Rev.
Dexter Johnson of the Higher Ground Empowerment Center was in the area the night of the 2002 flood, and he came to help residents get out of homes where sewage was seven feet deep.
His church served as a Red Cross center for people who were displaced by the flood.
“We’re very proud of the journey.
We’re excited about what’s happening,” he said of the park.

Webb Bridge Park Water Quality Enhancement Project Wins 2016 IWRM Award from AWRA

Webb Bridge Park Water Quality Enhancement Project Wins 2016 IWRM Award from AWRA.
The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) is pleased to announce that the Webb Bridge Park Water Quality Enhancement Project of the City of Alpharetta, GA, was the 2016 winner of the Association’s prestigious Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Award.
“Alpharetta is excited to learn that our project has been recognized by the American Water Resources Association,” says Jill Bazinet, Senior Stormwater Engineer, City of Alpharetta, Public Works Department.
The city’s response to this inquiry included the formation of a team to address concerns, completion of a drainage study, construction of a number of innovative stormwater measures, and introduction of an education program.
Neighborhood community groups, residents, city staff, scientists, and designers came together to improve the environmental impacts of a large city park on the downstream creeks and ultimately on the recreational lake.
It was not just a stormwater project or a parks project, it was a community project.
By doing this, the resulting projects had wide spread support.
” AWRA also presented several other awards during the November 16th Luncheon, including: Sandor C. Csallany Institutional Award for Exemplary Contributions to Water Resources: Orange County Water District William R. Boggess Award: Joanna Endter-Wada, Enjie Li, Shujuan Li, all with Utah State University, Paper Title: “Characterizing and Contextualizing the Water Challenges of Megacities,” JAWRA 2015 Outstanding AWRA State Section Award: Florida State Section Outstanding AWRA Student Chapter Award: University of Florida Student Chapter Fellow Member Inductees: Carol Collier and Michael Lilly AWRA Awards Each year, the American Water Resources Association gives several awards and scholarships.
Nominations for 2016 will open in the new year.
For more information visit the AWRA Annual Awards page,IWRM Award page, or the AWRA Scholarships page.

Wauwatosa’s Hartung Park receives award for water management

Wauwatosa’s Hartung Park receives award for water management.
Hartung Park in Wauwatosa was awarded as a Green Luminary green space by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District April 10.
The park near the intersection of West Keefe Avenue and Menomonee River Parkway opened in 2010 at the site of the old Hartung Quarry that supplied rocks used to construct area buildings.
The MMSD website describes Green Luminaries as spaces that "help protect our rivers and Lake Michigan by adapting practices that harvest rainfall for other uses or mimic nature by draining it into the ground to reduce water pollution."
A release from Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley’s office said the Green Luminaries Award acknowledges the work done by the collaboration of the city of Milwaukee, city of Wauwatosa and a group of volunteers who worked together over the past 14 years to make the park what it is today.
"It’s transformed from a quarry to a landfill and now a park that uses green infrastructure to help keep water pollution out of Milwaukee-area rivers and Lake Michigan," MMSD Public information Manager Bill Graffin said.
The Green Luminaries Award, given monthly, acknowledges projects, big or small, which ultimately help protect our rivers and Lake Michigan through storm water management, according to a news release.
The projects are led by people who recognize the need to innovate and create lasting good works that connect people and prosperity to the environment.
Wauwatosa Alderman Jason Wilke and Hartung Park Neighborhood Association Board member Mary Richter accepted the award at the MMSD board meeting.

Prides, protection and parks: Africa’s protected areas can support four times as many lions

Prides, protection and parks: Africa’s protected areas can support four times as many lions.
Africa’s protected parks and reserves are capable of supporting three to four times as many wild lions if well funded and managed, according to a new report led by Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization.
Published in Biological Conservation, the study shows that populations of the African lion and its prey species are drastically below their natural potential inside most of Africa’s protected areas (PA).
Panthera Research Associate and Wildlife Conservation Network Conservation Initiatives Director, Dr. Peter Lindsey, shared, "Africa’s incredible protected areas hold the key to securing the future of lions and several other wildlife species, and can yield significant benefits for people.
African governments have set aside enough space to conserve lions effectively — we just need to find ways to enable those areas to be funded sufficiently and managed effectively.
Panthera and partner scientists found that adequate management budgets and management capacity are essential pre-requisites for successfully conserving lions in PAs, as they permit effective law enforcement and other critical conservation initiatives.
Today, sub-Saharan Africa’s tourism industry, supported by dozens of parks and reserves, is valued at $25 billion dollars, compared to the $20 billion a year illegal wildlife trade that is increasingly targeting Africa’s big cats and wildlife for their precious parts.
However, for Africa’s vast PA network to fulfill its potential for conserving lions and other species, there is an urgent need to greatly escalate funding and capacity to effectively manage those parks.
ScienceDaily, 21 February 2017.
Panthera.