Trailer park marks 30 years of ‘Third World’ water issue
When Jamie Decosse ran herself a bath for the first time in her trailer at Lynnwood Gardens mobile home park, the tub began to fill with murky, brown water.
Ever since, she’s been counting down the days until she can leave the small trailer park in Edwards, about 30 kilometres southeast of Ottawa.
Decosse, a personal support worker, moved to Lynnwood from Sudbury in 2011 so her four kids could have better schooling options.
She said she had no idea there were long-standing issues with the water before she moved in — issues that have persisted since the trailer park opened more than 30 years ago.
The water, although it has been tested previously and passed health standards, comes out of the taps brown or yellow as frequently as two to four days a week, residents say.
Decosse said she gave her dog tap water to drink when she moved in and for three days he was violently ill.
“He’ll eat anything. He’ll dig in the yard for treats, but he won’t drink the water,” Decosse said.
Tired from the water worry, Decosse plans to leave within the next six months.
Ten of the Lynnwood residents the Citizen spoke to in the community of 51 said the water comes out clear on some days, but on others is yellow or brown. Some reported the water tasting salty and questioned whether it contained rust from old, deteriorating pipes. Others went so far as to compare their water issues to Third World conditions.
Part of the reason for the water issues is poor infrastructure, say some residents, including rust from the pipes and harmful byproducts from attempts at treating the water.
A drought last summer was also blamed for recent high arsenic levels in the water. When the well that supplies the community ran low, arsenic from the soil seeped into the supply.
Residents say the company that owns the land, Killam Properties, is doing little to solve the issue. Meanwhile, the city, the local MP and MPP and Ottawa Public Health say they have been aware of the problem for years, but are handcuffed by co-ordination issues and an inability to hold Killam more accountable.
A water advisory in June, 2016, was the last straw for some. At least six residents sold or abandoned their trailers, according to other residents.
The advisory issued by the City of Ottawa warned the Lynnwood community not to drink the tap water due to high levels of arsenic and trihalomethanes. Trihalomethanes are a byproduct from treating water with chlorine. Under that advisory, tap water was only suitable for bathing, cleaning dishes, laundry, rinsing produce and brushing teeth.
As of Friday, the water remained unsafe to drink.
The low cost of living in Lynnwood attracted many of its residents, and some say they can’t afford to leave. They’re only required to pay rent for the land their trailer is on, which is typically less than $400 a month.
“I can’t wash my white clothes here. They’ll get ruined,” retiree Margaret Morrow said. She moved to Lynnwood seven years ago knowing about the quality of the water. She said that while the problem has persisted, it has got marginally better in recent months because the pipes have been flushed out more often.
“Everyone is willing to pay for their water,” Morrow said. “They just need to fix the supply.”
Since the advisory last June, Killam has been delivering bottled water to residents. Each trailer receives five 18-litre bottles of water per week while Killam works to resolve the water issue.
When contacted by the Citizen, Killam said it is moving as quickly as it can to get several building permits approved by the city. Killam said it is installing a new well pump with a filtration and treatment system, and replacing some of the water pipes. According to Killam, once these projects are complete, the water should be drinkable.
The pump project is expected to be completed this spring, although some residents have said the completion date keeps getting pushed back. It was originally to have been ready this past September.
Killam acquired the Lynnwood property in 2005, although the problem existed before that. In 2000, a city advisory warned residents of E. coli and coliform in the water.
“I grew up not far from here and we always were able to drink the water. Now I’ve forgotten what it’s like to go to the tap for a glass of water,” one resident told the Citizen in a 2001 article.
Lisa MacLeod, MPP for Nepean-Carleton, which includes Lynnwood, said Killam appears hesitant to invest a large sum of money to permanently solve the water issue.
“Unless someone can embarrass them, I don’t think anything will happen,” MacLeod said.
Killam, however, said it has been working for years to resolve the issue and that it is investing money into the community.
“We believe that investing $600,000 in capital in this small community would be considered substantive by any measure,” said Pamela Crowell, Killam’s vicepresident of tenant experience.
MacLeod said she has had a jar of Lynnwood’s dirty water on her desk since she was elected in 2006. She said she looks at it every day to keep in mind the people of Lynnwood. “This is Third World-quality water in the capital of a G8 country. It’s unacceptable,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod said she keeps hitting dead ends when dealing with Killam and that co-ordinating among the company, the city and the province is halting any progress. She said there is no legal mechanism to force a landlord, such as Killam, to provide drinkable water.
Under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act, every residence is required to be supplied with potable water. As Killam is providing its tenants with bottled water until it resolves the issue, the company is compliant with the act.
Last week, MacLeod spoke in the Ontario legislature about the poor water quality at Lynnwood and said Killam needs to be held accountable. MacLeod said she has also been vocal about the issue with the city and province in the past.
“The ball is in (Killam’s) court and all we can do is wait until they want to fix the issue,” MacLeod said.
Crowell said Killam would like to encourage more open communication and co-operation with local government, particularly MacLeod.
Osgoode Coun. George Darouze said the city has been working to resolve the issue for years but that he can only do so much in his position.
“I think there needs to be a change on a provincial and federal level so that privately owned companies can’t get away with this,” Darouze said.
He said new legislation may be needed for something substantial to happen.
Doug Thompson, a former city councillor for Osgoode, said the problem won’t be easily fixed. In his time as councillor, Thompson said, he had difficulties communicating with Killam and co-ordinating with different levels of government.
Ottawa Public Health said the water in the community has passed Ontario standards in the past and that residents should seek their own solutions for any “esthetic issues.”
Previous efforts tried to connect Lynnwood to other water supplies, but those projects failed.
Russell Township’s water system is close enough to link to Lynnwood’s, but the two were unable to reach an agreement from 2007 to 2009. A connection with Carlsbad Springs was also considered in 2009, but the city required Killam to pay. Killam said the project “proved to be unfeasible in terms of cost.”
The company also tried to drill an “exploratory well” in 2008, but the well was “insufficient to supply the property.”
Meanwhile, Lynnwood residents wait for a solution.
“No one told me when I moved in,” Decosse said. “I had to find out when I turned on the taps.”
This is Third World-quality water in the capital of a G8 country. It’s unacceptable.
MPP LISA MACLEOD