Park residents still struggling with water issues, await upgrades

Pownal Estates Mobile Home Park residents, April Robie, left, and Jody LaCross, display a bottle filled from a faucet in Robie's home. The women expressed mounting frustration with continued water pressure and quality issues over several years at the park, which the owners have promised to address.

POWNAL — A new water line system is planned to address chronic water pressure and dirty water issues at the Pownal Estates Mobile Home Park.

But the completion of that grant-funded project isn't expected before the end of the year, and that won't allow two Mount Anthony Union High School graduates who live in the park to shower at home before the commencement ceremonies Friday evening.

And a resident who recently underwent major surgery won't be able to bathe in the park water anytime soon without risking an infection from the yellowish-brown water, her neighbors said.

Park residents Jody LaCross and April Robie expressed their continued frustration Wednesday with water and other problems at the park, which is located near the intersection of routes 7 and 346.

The women said residents had hoped when the park changed hands in 2021 that the situation would improve, but water system failures, park road maintenance and other issues remain.

"I’m done with this," LaCross said at one point. "This isn't fair to us."

Well-publicized water issues have continued at the park — formerly called Alta Gardens Mobile Home Park — for several years, and most recently the pumps in the well-fed system broke down again, cutting off water Thursday night to the approximately 50 mobile homes.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the residents said, after work was done on the system pumps, water pressure began returning at an incremental rate, but undrinkable discolored water remained, and rust stains and black or brown residue builds up in sinks and other fixtures.

They said on-and-off discolored water has been a constant problem for several years. The park is supplying bottled drinking water, but they said that residents are loathe to take a bath or shower in it, or wash dishes or clothes — especially whites.

In addition, another neighbor said, the water fouls and eventually ruins washing machines, water heater tanks and other appliances.

The park was purchased in 2021 from owner Mark Garrity by Patriot Holdings, which has promised upgrades to the water system, park roads and other maintenance. They said last year they were making progress but that park maintenance work had been "highly neglected" in the past.

A spokeswoman for the ownership firm, which is based in Las Vegas, said Wednesday that the well water pumps have now been replaced and water pressure should build up and the water clear as a water storage tank and the water lines refill and pressurize. She said the contractor had to first get additional parts before completing further repairs on Monday. Residents said they reported the system failure late last week.

The project to replace all of the park waterlines – with the aim of hooking the park into the nearby Pownal Fire District 2 water system – remains on track, she said, and construction work is expected to begin soon.

In February, a state grant of $657,090 through the Agency of Natural Resources was announced to provide technical assistance, permitting and construction of a new park water line system.

The company spokeswoman said the project design work has been completed and final permitting for the work is in progress.

The ultimate plan is to connect with the Fire District 2 water system, which serves homes and businesses in the southern areas of Pownal.

Mark Smith, chairman of the water district's board, said he understands that the Pownal Estates water line project is in the engineering phase, and that once all the interior park lines are replaced and a valve and meter building installed, the district can allow the connection.

"To my understanding they have to be done by December," Smith said.

He added in a later email that project engineers are expected to visit the park Thursday, along with a representative of the project contractor, for a walk-through inspection of the site.

Acting Pownal Health Officer Mike Gardner said in an email that he is aware of the water problems and has spoken to the parties involved.

"I have contacted [the park spokeswoman] and the pump is supposed to be repaired today," Gardner said Tuesday. "She was very quick to respond to me, and I have given her my information to keep me updated. I have also been in contact with the resident who called me and will continue to monitor the situation with both parties."

A park tenant said after an earlier water pump breakdown last summer that water lines are buried about 4 feet below the park surface, and are believed to date to the 1950s. Tenants said this week that they believe problems with deep potholes in the gravel park roads are supposed to be addressed at the same time new water lines are installed.

The park — and the adjacent Green Mountain Mobile Home Park — flourished during the period of horse and greyhound racing at the nearby former Green Mountain Race Track site, from the early 1960s through the early 1990s.

But the track closed for good in 1991, and in recent years conditions in the two parks have slowly deteriorated.

Jim Therrien can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 413-281-2646.

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Jim Therrien writes for the Vermont News and Media newspapers, including the Bennington Banner, Manchester Journal and Brattleboro Reformer.