Iowa City-area mobile home park faces uncertainty about drinking water after tests show high levels of manganese

IOWA CITY — Residents of Lake Ridge Estates, a mobile home park just south of Iowa City, last week found a 24-pack of bottled water and a notice at their front doors.

“Lake Ridge Inc. has high levels of manganese. DO NOT GIVE TAP WATER TO INFANTS UNDER 6 MONTHS OLD OR USE IT TO MAKE INFANT FORMULA.”

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Manganese, an essential nutrient at low doses, becomes dangerous at higher levels.

Children who drink water with high levels of manganese may develop learning and behavior problems, the Minnesota Department of Health reported. Adults with high exposure over a long time may also have problems with memory, attention and motor skills.

When a similar spike in manganese was detected in Lake Ridge’s drinking water in late December, the park’s out-of-state owner, Havenpark, said it was due to a valve malfunction in the park’s water system. The company installed new valves and repaired three hydrants, according to a May 27 statement from Havenpark.

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But three days later, on May 30, it happened again.

Many mobile home communities are vulnerable to drinking water contamination because they often are built outside city limits — avoiding stricter regulations — and because owners may not want to pay for expensive infrastructure upgrades, said David Cwiertny, a University of Iowa engineering professor and director of the UI Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination.

“There's a bunch of folks in these manufactured housing communities that don't have the protections they need,” he said.

Brown water events

Bora Pascaline, 37, has been collecting water samples since January at the Lake Ridge home she shares with her husband, Justin, and four children, ages 5, 7, 8 and 10. Monday, she filled the plastic bottles to be delivered to the UI for testing.

Pascaline uses the tap water for cooking and cleaning, but buys bottled water for drinking.

“I want to know what kind of water I am using,” she said. “They say this is no good for babies.”

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For years, Lake Ridge Estates has had occasional problems with mineral deposits in the park’s water pipes turning the water brown, which stains laundry and toilet bowls, said Jessica Andino, director of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition.

Last fall, several Lake Ridge residents started collecting water samples for the UI center, which also is testing tap water from Sunrise Village, Modern Manor, Western Hills and Hilltop — other Johnson County mobile home parks.

After a brown water event in January, three samples from two Lake Ridge homes showed manganese of 2.7 milligrams per liter to 10.5 milligrams per liter — which is nine to 35 times higher than the .3 milligrams per liter acute, short-term health advisory for infants and well over the chronic, lifetime health advisory for adults.

Arsenic, which often sticks to manganese, was four times to 10 times higher than the safe standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Arsenic consumption has been linked to melanoma and prostate cancer.

“Outside of that brown water event Lake Ridge Estates has water that is well below the MCL (maximum contaminant level) for arsenic,” said Drew Latta, an associate research scientist who works with Cwiertny at the UI.

Ownership changes for mobile home parks

Lake Ridge Estates, built in 1996, was owned by an Iowa-based firm until 2022, when Wolf Construction sold to Havenpark, an investment firm based in Orem, Utah. Many Johnson County mobile home park residents have complained about Havenpark jacking up rent and slashing amenities since the firm started buying local parks in 2019. Last fall, Havenpark sold Golf View Estates, in North Liberty, but the firm still owns at least four mobile home parks in Johnson County and others across the state.

Havenpark said it is committed to providing safe drinking water in Lake Ridge Estates.

After December water tests showed elevated manganese, Havenpark “worked quickly to replace the valves and monitor the water for improvement,” the firm said in an email. “By January, test results confirmed that manganese levels in the water had returned to within safe limits.”

Havenpark waited until May 22 to tell residents their water was safe to drink, leaving them with months of uncertainty.

“They've never told anyone whether it's improved,” one resident who did not wish to be named for fear of retaliation said in early May. “People are just scared. They are afraid about doing something that makes them lose their home.”

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Most residents in mobile home parks own their homes, but not the land. Iowa landlords don’t need a reason to evict residents, although they must provide a 90-day notice.

Just eight days after the May 22 all-clear, Lake Ridge’s water supply again tested high for manganese on May 30, this time at .35 milligrams per liter, the DNR reported. The DNR sent a letter to Havenpark June 11 telling the company to post notices by June 30.

The DNR does not have authority to require public water supplies to remove manganese, said Aaron Pickens, an environmental specialist senior with the DNR.

“If it’s nitrate or arsenic, the picture looks a little different,” he said. “Then, if they aren’t meeting the MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) we would require them to install treatment or find another source.”

Small water supplies vulnerable

Any small town or subdivision with limited water storage capability could face the same problems with iron and manganese, Pickens said.

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“If there’s a pressure issue, such as a water main break, some of that iron and manganese settles out and may get suspended and show up as rusty water,” he said.

Larger cities, like Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, use water stored in towers or underground tanks to flush the system after a main break. Small developments, including mobile home parks, often don’t flush out settled contaminants effectively, Pickens said.

Although many mobile home parks are close to city limits, it’s not easy or cheap to connect to municipal water.

“Part of the issue for us is if we're going to connect a community onto our water, we'd expect to have the community served at the same level as any subdivision,” said Jonathan Durst, Iowa City water superintendent. A mobile home park owner likely would need to put in larger pipes to support fire hydrants and improve other water infrastructure, he said. “If a mobile home community wants to annex in, it comes down to those dollars and cents.”

Bottled water costs

Andino got a grant last year for just under $10,000 for activities that include testing tap water and studying the financial burden on mobile home residents when they don’t have clean water to drink.

“If you don't have direct-tap water, you probably have other water costs,” she said.

Modern Manor, a Havenpark-owned mobile home park just east of Iowa City limits, was without water for three days in January when a pump broke because of the frigid temperatures. In that case, Havenpark provided residents with bottled water and portable toilets.

Bottled water costs from 50 cents a gallon to more than $2 a gallon, while Iowa City’s tap water costs less than a penny per gallon, Durst said. He and Cwiertny have talked about the possibility of installing a fill station near Lake Ridge Estates so residents could get water when park tap water is discolored or has a health advisory.