Water issues plague neighbors at Rensselaer County mobile home park

Running water was back Tuesday evening at a mobile home park in Rensselaer County. However, the pouring rain was about as close as residents got for a week.

Just hours after NewsChannel 13 spoke to neighbors there, they got a message saying the water was back, but that they were still advised to boil water before using it.

Residents of Country Acres just off Route 7 say the week was rough and they’re left with few answers in an ongoing problem.

Laurie Glynn was doing the math since she first lost water last Wednesday, adding up the number of water bottles it takes to do the basics.

“It takes 10 to 12 to fill the back of the tank of the toilet, and then another 10 to 12 to flush it,” Glynn explained. “So that’s a whole case, just in one toilet flushing.”

Tuesday morning, she had just a few minutes of running water to fill up pots, so she could wash her hands and her dishes.

Glynn is a retired ER nurse, now on oxygen herself. That means she can go up the road to her daughter’s to shower with her portable tank, but she said, “That only lasts so long, the portable one. So it’s not like I can go over there and stay for the day, because the big one is a huge big compressor, so I can’t throw that in the car and go.”

NewsChannel 13 tried to speak to the owner, George Whalen of Teton Management. Someone working in the office said he and all the maintenance workers were in the field working on the problem, and were not available.

Rensselaer County Legislator Dan Casale represents the area. He tells NewsChannel 13 the County Health Department is addressing the issue.

“Upon hearing of the situation at Country Gardens, I contacted the Rensselaer County Department of Health, and was pleased to learn that they were already addressing the ongoing issues with the park’s owner,” he said in a statement.

“They required the owner to provide bottled water to all residents, and begin immediate repairs to the park’s privately owned water system. We are hopeful that the park’s owner will be able to get their water system operational soon, and our County Health Department will stay on top of the situation until the system is working properly.”

Glynn says she’s been dealing with water issues since she arrived two years ago, with other neighbors warning her they’ve dealt with issues for over a decade.

She says it can be off some days, then back on others, but this is the worst it’s been.

Still, she’s trying to keep her sense of humor.

“Maybe I should take the clothes out on the little creek down here and pound them against the rocks, what do you think?” she joked.

Glynn says even though water was restored Tuesday, it’s a short-term solution to a long-term problem. She says she’s not planning on paying rent until she’s convinced the issues are resolved.