After Some 41 Hours Water Finally Restored At Elk Ridge

Water is restored at Elk Ridge. LADP file photo

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

After approximately 41 hours without water, the residents of Elk Ridge mobile home park finally had water restored at around 3 p.m. today.

Residents said that the mobile home park had been without water since 10 p.m. Saturday.

Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Public Relations Manager Julie Williams-Hill told the Los Alamos Daily Post today that DPU provides water to a master meter for Elk Ridge. Yes Communities, which owns the mobile home park along with its pipes and infrastructure, then distributes the water to the individuals on the property.

Williams-Hill said Yes Communities asked the County Saturday to turn off the water to repair leaks, but Yes Communities had difficulties locating parts.

“It’s been really difficult for them because it is Memorial Day weekend,” Williams-Hill said.

Elk Ridge residents spoke to the Post but asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. They said the water service restoration was all thanks to the residents including plumber Gilbert Wilder who donated parts to get the water flowing again, Elk Ridge maintenance contractor Ed Hagerman and Elk Ridge maintenance worker Anna Garcia.

“She’s our angel,” the resident said. “She takes care of us. She deserves all the credit in the world.”

Williams-Hill added that DPU offered parts it has available, but they were not the ones the mobile home park needed.

The disruption in water services is just one of many problems the residents of Elk Ridge have had with Yes Communities, residents told the Post. The infrastructure at the mobile home park is “old and decrepit” but all Yes Communities does is “put band-aids on it”.

It is infuriating, the resident said, because the corporate owners “do not hesitate to fine residents for yards that violate any nuisance codes or to evict a resident because of a barking dog”.

“They won’t do anything to fix their problems,” the resident said. “This kind of thing is a pattern with these guys,” they said, and pointed out that it was up to residents to pay out of pocket to get their streets plowed two years ago when Los Alamos was hit with a record breaking snowstorm.

The maintenance person at that time was pushed to the limit of what they could do after working 40 hours straight trying to clear roads, the residents said. Resident also said that many are stuck in Elk Ridge either because they are elderly and cannot move or because housing costs elsewhere make it impossible to relocate … “There is no place for them to go”.

During this weekend’s debacle, organizations in town opened their facilities to Elk Ridge residents, including the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, allowing residents to stop by and fill containers with water. Additionally, the County opened the Aquatic Center until 6 p.m. today to allow residents to shower and get water.

The Post contacted the local management team at Elk Ridge for comment and was referred to the corporate office, which is closed until Tuesday.

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