Mobile Home Park Drinking Water Regulations

In a recent AquaTalk article, the following quiz question was proposed for readers:

If a mobile home park does not have a well or treatment system, but bills customers for water, what regulations apply?

1. The plumbing code alone
2. The plumbing code and the new Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act
3. The plumbing code, the new Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act, DOLA’s Mobile Home Park Oversight program, and Regulation 11 within the distribution system.
4. None of the above are fully correct; it’s complicated!

It is complicated! All of the above (and more) may apply, but the answer is 4 because it depends on some important variables that must be evaluated on a case by case basis. Hopefully after reading this, the statutory and regulatory frameworks that apply to mobile home park water quality regulations will be more clear. 

DOLA’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Program

The Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), Division of Housing’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Program (MHPOP) implements the Mobile Home Park Act. The program also conducts outreach, education and maintains an annual mobile home park registration system. DOLA has all of the applicable laws, rules, and policies located on their MHP rules website.

What is a mobile home park? MHPOP’s definition of MHPs is on their website. To summarize, a "mobile home park" is a parcel of land that accommodates five or more mobile homes. And the park operates for the monetary benefit of the land owner. Homes must be "designed for long-term residential occupancy". This language clarifies the difference between mobile home parks and recreational vehicle (RV) parks. Refer to MHPOP’s definition to understand the nuances between housing communities. To add, if a mobile home park does not have 5 or more manufactured homes, it is not considered a mobile home park. 

Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division implements the Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act (Act). This Act applies to all mobile home parks that meet the MHPOP definition. This Act was signed into law by Governor Polis in June 2023. This law establishes a water quality testing program for mobile home parks. The following occurs under the law:

• Mobile home parks are prioritized for testing based on criteria in the law.
• Site-specific testing plans are created for each mobile home park.
• The department’s contractor, Terracon, completes water quality testing.
• The analysis is completed at certified laboratories.
• All test results are submitted to the department.
• The department has 10 days to notify the mobile home park owner of test results. The wholesaler also receives a copy of the notice.
• Test results are posted online in English and Spanish.
• Mobile home park owners must provide residents with a notice of test results within five days.
• If a water quality issue is identified, the department will typically require the mobile home park to complete additional testing. Remediation or temporary measures necessary to address acute health risks may be required.

The purpose of the Act is to conduct water quality testing at all mobile home parks over a four year period. The law considers resident concerns about water quality. The Act also requires the department to create an Action Plan. The Action Plan will provide an overview of findings and offer longer term recommendations to improve water quality in parks across Colorado. 

In February, we posted an informative AquaTalk article about the new Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act.

Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations - Regulation 11

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division implements Regulation 11. This Regulation is applicable to public water systems (PWS). A PWS is defined as:

• A system that provides the public water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances; 
• Has at least fifteen service connections; and/or
• Regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days per year; and
• Includes either a source or treatment, or receives all of its water from a public water system and sells water to its customers.

Some mobile home parks treat their own water source, but a majority of mobile home parks in the state are connected to existing public water systems. Parks that get water from a public water system and bill customers for water based on usage are selling water. Any water billing structure that fluctuates based on water usage is considered selling. This includes submetering and splitting a bill amongst users. If water charges are included in rent, the mobile home park is not considered selling. Any mobile home park with 25 or more residents or 15 service connections that sells water is a public water system and subject to Regulation 11.

If a mobile home park meets the definition of a public water system but receives all of its water from another public water system, it is still required to monitor water quality in the distribution system (disinfection, disinfection byproducts, lead and copper, total coliform bacteria). The mobile home park must also comply with operator certification and backflow prevention requirements, storage tank inspections/maintenance requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and perform public notifications. The Department also performs sanitary surveys on a 3-5 year frequency.

Water and Wastewater Facility Operators Certification Requirements - Regulation 100

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division and the Water and Wastewater Facility Operators Certification Board implement Regulation 100. Regulation 100 is applicable to the mobile home parks that meet the PWS definition. Regulation 100 ensures that people who operate water and wastewater facilities are properly trained and certified. If a mobile home park receives all of its water from another public water system, it is still required to have a certified operator for its distribution system.

Plumbing Code

Another critical requirement is the plumbing code. The State Plumbing Board licenses, registers, and regulates plumbers, apprentices, and plumbing contractors. Information is available at The Department of Regulatory Agencies' plumbing website. The Colorado Plumbing Rules and Regulations are an adoption of the International Plumbing Code and International Residential Code 2021 edition. These regulations and plumbing codes are applicable to mobile home parks. The terms Manufactured Home and Manufactured Housing is used throughout the plumbing code to refer to mobile home parks.

Hypothetical Examples

What rules and regulations apply to a mobile home park that has 13 mobile homes, 28 residents, is connected to a public water system and bills customers for water based on usage?

• DOLA’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Program
• CDPHE’s Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act
• Regulation 11
• Regulation 100
• Plumbing Code

What rules and regulations apply to a mobile home park that has 50 mobile homes, 100 residents, is connected to a public water system and includes water in resident’s rent without fluctuation based on usage.

• DOLA’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Program
• CDPHE’s Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act
• Plumbing Code

The number of mobile homes in the mobile home park, number of residents or service connections, and billing structure are important variables when identifying applicable rules and regulations. 

➽ Ian Ferguson, Drinking Water Compliance Specialist

New Act to Test Drinking Water Quality in Mobile Home Parks

Governor Polis signed the Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act in June 2023. The law creates a drinking water testing program for Colorado's mobile home parks. The goal is to test all parks for primary and secondary contaminants. Secondary contaminants are often related to an adverse smell, taste, and color. Mobile home parks are a vital source of relatively  affordable housing for many people. While some parks are regulated and meet the current drinking water standards, many residents feel that their drinking water is unsafe. As a result of these concerns and potential problems created with secondary contaminants, some residents feel compelled to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking. The testing will check if there is a water quality issue at each park. Remediation is required if there is a water quality issue that impacts the welfare and safety of the residents.

The department will test 750 parks across the state over a four year period. Each year, 25% of the parks must be tested. Testing will start in July 2024 and end in July 2028. The department is responsible for developing the overall testing plan, prioritizing the sampling, conducting stakeholder outreach, reviewing results, and requiring remediation. An independent contractor will conduct the testing. We will also interview park community members about water quality concerns. This will ensure representative testing in each park. 

Testing may include:

• Primary contaminants: Testing will be conducted if the park is:
• Not regulated as a public water system; or 
• Does not receive its drinking water from another regulated public water system.
• All parks will be tested for secondary contaminants (e.g., hardness, total dissolved solids, iron, odor, and manganese). 
• All parks will be tested for “forever chemicals” (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)) unless:
• The park has already participated in recent PFAS voluntary efforts; or 
• The system they purchase water from has participated in recent PFAS voluntary efforts.  

All testing results will be posted on our website. We will notify the following entities within 10 days of receiving results:

• The mobile home park owner.
• The county health department and/or city government.
• The Mobile Home Park Oversight Program (MHPOP) in the Department of Local Affairs.
• The mobile home park’s water supplier.
• The CDPHE Environmental Justice Ombudsperson.

Once notified, park owners must notify residents of results within five days. If the department identifies a water quality issue, the park owner must:

• Include information about the issue in the notice
• Prepare and submit a remediation plan within 120 days
• Comply with any orders issued
• Not pass the cost of compliance on the Park residents

The department is developing resources for both residents and park residents. This includes lists or websites for: 

1. Professional translation vendors
2. Certified contract operators
3. Certified labs
4. Colorado’s Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network
5. Water haulers

What does this mean for water suppliers and operators?

Park owners or residents may ask about testing. If your water system sells water to a park, you may be contacted for additional information. Here is a list of Colorado’s registered parks across the state. Parks may want to tap into the local utility if testing identifies a water quality issue.

We anticipate that some parks may meet the definition of a public water system and be regulated. These systems will need to hire a certified operator, develop monitoring plans, and start testing the water. They may reach out to neighboring systems for operator referrals or questions about treatment. For example, if the park identified high levels of manganese, they might ask other systems what type of treatment they are using. 

 For more information, please visit our Mobile Home Park website.

➽ Stephanie Hosie, Drinking Water Compliance Assurance

How do our implicit biases affect our ability to protect public health?

Resources: Project Implicit is a free and anonymous test developed at Harvard University that helps individuals identify their own biases. Please click here to take the test.

As members of the drinking water sector, we hold an important role in protecting the health of our communities. In order to fully perform our jobs, it is crucial for us to understand the implications of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) on our work. This article will review implicit bias, its potential effects on our ability to protect public health, and tools to evaluate our own biases. 

What is implicit bias? 

The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition’s Glossary of Equity and Inclusion Terms describes implicit bias as an “attitude or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions. People are usually unaware of their own biases because they operate at the subconscious level.” Our implicit biases can affect the way we treat people, the way we perform our jobs, and the way we engage with the world.  

How does implicit bias affect our ability to protect public health?

Our implicit biases can lead us to think and act with a deficit mindset where we believe that “an individual’s deficiencies are solely determined by their cultural background and/or their own actions and behavior. When we are in this mindset, we can fail to recognize how the norms of a dominant group place barriers to success for oppressed groups because of their varied life experiences. Deficit mindset is often used in the context of the education system to describe when academic deficiencies in students of color are blamed on the students themselves or their communities rather than structural inequities.” (Adapted from Dismantling Deficit Thinking by Chelsea Heinbach, Brittany Paloma Fielder, Rosan Mitola and Emily Pattni). 

How does deficit mindset play out in the work we do in the water sector?

It could look like regulators unfairly blaming underserved communities for their non-compliance on lack of attention or ignorance. These judgements omit the overarching structural barriers to success. Deficit mindset could also look like a drinking water operator or administrator failing to post a public notice or distribute important information about their water because they do not trust their customers to read or understand the documents. No matter the context, a deficit mindset does not take into account the full picture of societal and structural inequities. These assumptions of a personal or cultural flaw lead us to ignore deeper roots of issues and could potentially affect the way we treat people that are different from ourselves and result in a failure to protect the public health of those individuals and communities. 

How are communities’ access to safe drinking water affected by inequity and implicit bias?

As members of the drinking water sector, we have a certain amount of power. Power in this case is defined as “our ability, as individuals and as communities, to produce an intended effect. Power manifests itself in both positive and negative ways and shows up formally and informally.” Our intended effect is to protect the public health of all Coloradoans by providing safe drinking water. We hold specific roles in our industry that give us the ability to produce this intended effect: operators, scientists, administrators, regulators, teachers, decision makers, board members, managers, and enforcers. If we allow our implicit biases to go unchecked, they begin to affect the way in which we are meeting our common goal of protecting public health by providing safe drinking water. This can have the negative effect of prioritizing the health of some groups of people over others. 

Two reports released in 2019 give us some insight into the effects of the systematic and individual manifestations of our implicit biases: 

1. Closing the Water Gap in the United States was published in November 2019 and co-authored by Dig Deep and U.S. Water alliance. Here are some of the key findings: 

• Race is still the strongest determinant of access to safe drinking water. 
• More than 2 million people in the U.S and Puerto Rico do not have access to water and basic indoor plumbing. 
• Latino and African American households are twice as likely as white households to lack indoor plumbing. Native Americans are 19 times more likely to lack indoor plumbing. 
• To move these 2 million people out of the water gap will require: 
• Partnership between water providers, governments, communities, and community organizations
• Flexible funding methods to fund infrastructure projects

2. Watered Down Justice was published in September of 2019 and co-authored by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Coming Clean, and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance (EJHA). Here are some of the key findings from the report: 

• NRDC, EJHA, and Coming Clean conducted an analysis of the approximately 50,000 active community water systems in the country and sociodemographic factors such as race and income. 
• The data from June 1, 2016, to May 31, 2019, included nearly 200,000 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the federal law. 
• Drinking water systems that constantly violated the law for years were 40 percent more likely to occur in places with higher percentages of residents who were people of color.
• All levels of government have failed to invest and enact policies to protect underserved populations. This segregation and discrimination has led to aging, underdeveloped, and underfunded water infrastructure in water systems serving populations of color and low-income communities.
• Nearly 130 million people in the U.S. got their drinking water from systems that violated federal law during the time period reviewed in this report.
• Small systems (those that serve less than 3,300 people) were responsible for more than 80% of all violations. The EPA has noted many small systems are “likely to serve low-income, vulnerable populations.”
• Dysfunction of the drinking water law leaves millions nationwide potentially exposed to unsafe water, whether it’s because some dangerous contaminants are not regulated or because some systems simply do not report any data at all.

Below is a statement from the CDPHE Office of Health Equity:

“The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment acknowledges that long-standing systemic racism, including economic and environmental injustice, has created conditions that negatively affect marginalized communities, particularly people of color. These conditions, which limit opportunities for optimal health and influence individual behaviors, are critical predictors of health outcomes. To realize a future where all Coloradans can thrive, we must be leaders in undoing policies and practices that have contributed to these inequities”.

What can we do to keep our implicit biases from affecting our ability to protect the public health of all Coloradans?

The first step of keeping our implicit biases from affecting our work is to identify our own personal biases. This is a process of soul searching and looking objectively at our own behaviors. By removing judgment of ourselves we can see our actions, attitudes, and behaviors more clearly. This allows us to understand how our biases take root in our lives. A great tool to start the process of identifying personal biases is Project Implicit. Project Implicit is a free and anonymous test developed at Harvard University that helps individuals identify their own biases. Please click here to take the test. Additionally, working to better understand issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion can help us understand why this work is so important and how we can manifest the principles in our personal and professional lives.

 ➽ Kyra Gregory Drinking Water Training Specialist

Success Story: Safe Water for a Disproportionately Impacted Community

The Brighton Village mobile home community (Park) is a 28-home community in Adams County that serves around 80 people and is a disproportionately impacted community, defined in HB21-1266 Environmental Justice Disproportionate Impacted Community. The department initially issued an Enforcement Order in 2003 due to high nitrate values and the Park’s failure to comply with the nitrate maximum contaminant levels. Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrate above the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue baby syndrome. 

The 2003 enforcement order was closed in 2010. However, the department again issued an Enforcement Order in 2012 for nitrate violations and did so again in 2018. The Park had installed treatment but did not have the capabilities or the resources to operate the treatment appropriately to reliably achieve compliance. The long-term exposure to an acute contaminant created environmental injustices for this community. 

From the EPA, environmental justice is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” The Colorado Environmental Justice Act recognizes that all people have a right to drink clean water and live free of dangerous levels of toxic pollution, experience equal protection of environmental policies, and share the benefits of a prosperous and vibrant pollution-free economy. 

The department facilitated meetings with the Park and the City of Brighton. The City of Brighton and the Park decided that the best way to serve safe drinking water to the public was to connect the park to the City’s municipal water supply. However, the Park was required to upgrade its water distribution system before the connections could be made. The department provided the Park with $16,000 in grants that allowed the Park to connect to the municipal water supply.

The Safe Drinking Water Program worked in partnership with both the Park and City of Brighton to ensure this disproportionately impacted community is being provided with access to a consistent and reliable source of safe drinking water. This is an Environmental Justice win for the residents of this community, the department, and Colorado.

➽ Amy Schultz, Senior Drinking Water Compliance Specialist 

➽ Jorge Delgado, Drinking Water Compliance Unit Manager

2021 Consumer Confidence Reports & Spanish CCR templates Available

Draft Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) for 2021 have been posted and are now available at the division's consumer confidence rule website. Also, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) would like to announce the creation of the Spanish Consumer Confidence Report Template. (Please note that any additional content added to the template would need to be translated.) 

In the interest of public health and to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all communities, CDPHE recommends as a best practice that notifications to consumers are translated into the top two languages spoken in the community. There are multiple potential data sources for making this determination, including: 

• One easy-to-use source is the federal government’s Limited English Proficiency map, which makes data on the most frequently spoken languages in a community available by county. Spanish is the second-most frequently spoken language after English in all but one county in Colorado. In Dolores County, the second-most frequently spoken language is Navajo. 
• More granular data for areas smaller than the county level can also be downloaded from the American Community Survey. 

For systems supplying water to a large portion of Non-English speakers, Colorado’s Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11) require that the  confidence reports must include either of the following: 

• (i) Information in the appropriate language(s) regarding the importance of the consumer confidence report.
• (ii) A telephone number or address where the consumer may contact the supplier to obtain a translated copy of the consumer confidence report or request assistance in the appropriate language.  

Currently, CDPHE has not specified a mechanism to determine when notifications must be provided in a language other than English. Historically this determination has been left to the regulated entity to determine the applicability of this requirement. All of the draft CCRs contain a statement in Spanish indicating that the notice contains important information and that the reader, if needed, should seek assistance in having the notice translated.    

The recommendation to provide information in the top two spoken languages in a community is not a regulatory requirement of Regulation 11. However, this standard is established in the State of Colorado's Environmental Justice Act - HOUSE BILL 21-1266, for certain types of information that the Air Quality Control Commission makes available to the public (please see C.R.S. 24-4-109(3)(b)(VI)).

CDPHE would also like to make you aware that the Environmental Justice Act created an Environmental Justice Action Task Force that will draft a plan and provide recommendations for environmental justice policies to the General Assembly, Governor’s Office, and CDPHE. You are welcome to provide feedback to the Environmental Justice Action Task Force. The Task Force has created four subcommittees, and the Best Practices for Community Engagement may benefit from your engagement on this topic. More information can be found on the department's environmental justice website, specifically under the EJ Unit newsletter banner and by clicking the “Environmental Justice Action Task Force” tab at the bottom of the page. You can also provide comments to the Task Force via email at any time by emailing "cdphe_ej@state.co.us" with "EJATF Comment" in the subject line of your email. 

➽ Jorge Delgado, Drinking Water Compliance Unit Manager

Program Manager Message: How does equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) factor into direct potable reuse (DPR)?

Several years ago the Water Quality Control Division (division) became aware of the possibility that utilities with the appropriate water rights portfolio might move forward to directly recycle treated water into the headworks of a drinking water treatment facility. The drinking water facility would deploy additional advanced treatment processes (beyond conventional filtration and disinfection) to purify the water so that it could be safely distributed and consumed by the public. This practice is commonly referred to as direct potable reuse (DPR). Additionally, the division is committed to incorporating EDI considerations into its rules and work processes. How will that be done for DPR? 

Since then, the division has been working with stakeholders to better understand the logistic, technical and public communication challenges associated with DPR and develop mechanisms to address those challenges. We realized that DPR was not prohibited, but that we did not have specific rules to ensure that DPR would be done safely. As the effort progressed we understood that beyond the technical treatment issues, public communication and acceptance of the process was vital. In March 2021 we launched a stakeholder process to develop a specific rule to address DPR. The rule will include requirements that address both the technical and communication aspects. The rule is being drafted this fall and the concepts in this article are considerations as we move forward.

Regarding communication, the draft rule provides that a communication and public outreach program must be developed and implemented. Disproportionately impacted members of the community must not be left out of the process and deserve to have a say in the safety and quality of their drinking water. Therefore, in support of equity, diversion and inclusion, the communications and public outreach program must be conducted in a manner that allows for meaningful involvement and fair treatment of Disproportionately Impacted (DI) communities, as defined in C.R.S. 24-4-109(2)(b)(II), or as approved by the Department.

Meaningful engagement with DI communities means more than sending a typical public notice type of document in the mail. Meaningful engagement means that information is provided in  plain language and in a language the community understands. Meaningful engagement means that dialogue takes place, questions are answered, and concerns are addressed to the extent feasible. A description of how the supplier conducted outreach in a manner that allowed for meaningful involvement and fair treatment of DI communities, including a summary of engagement and responses from DI communities, if applicable, must be included in the plan. A certification that states that the supplier has fully complied with the communications and public outreach requirements must also be submitted to the department.

It’s important that the entire community including any DI members be given the opportunity to gain an understanding of:

• What DPR is and why it’s being done?

• What treatment processes and sampling will be done to ensure that tap water is safe?

• What wastewater treatment plant is the source for the recycled, purified water?

• Where in the community will the recycled water be supplied?

• The entire community or only certain areas?

• Are there DI communities in those areas and how will they be impacted? 

• How will the community be notified if the treatment process fails or sampling results show a problem with the water and how long will that take? 

We realize that many people are often unaware of where their water comes from and how safe it is. Therefore, water utilities will need to embark on a general education process about drinking water and the water cycle before getting into DPR issues. This general public education is long overdue and the department advocates that specific utilities as well as the utility community in general embark on public education about how safe our collective drinking water really is. As time goes on we will learn more about implementing DPR and how best to engage with communities about this subject, including DI communities. Both now and in the future incorporating EDI into the process will not only be necessary, it is and will be the right thing to do. 

➽ Ron Falco, P.E. Safe Drinking Water Program Manager