Rashes emerging, hair falling out, weight dropping off. These are some of the symptoms Denise Muller at Parkwood Manor Mobile Home Park in Oak Harbor has experienced since August that caught the attention of regional news outlets.
Muller blames her declining health on contaminants in her water, which she has confirmed via testing by Edge Analytical Laboratories. However, these claims have been disputed by TCG Property Management, the California-based management company, leaving Muller unsure of what to do.
When the water hasn’t been flushed or hasn’t run for a while, it comes out brown and murky, Muller said. When she tested it in October, Edge Analytical returned the results as “unsatisfactory” levels of coliform.
Common symptoms of coliform exposure are upset stomach, vomiting, fever, diarrhea and hair loss. Children and elderly people are most susceptible.
“My dermatologist has pretty much exhausted every lotion, potion, ointment, shampoo, everything, and it all comes back to this water,” Muller said.
Muller said she took a trip to Arizona recently for a week, and her symptoms improved.
“I got home and it just flared up,” she said. “I look like a freaking leper.”
When Muller tries to contact someone at TCG Property Management, she seldom gets a response, she said. But when she didn’t submit her rent payment for January as she didn’t feel she should pay for services she was not receiving, she received a 30-day pay or vacate notice within a few days.
Department of Health staff came and tested the water in December, and it returned as satisfactory, Muller said, though the water was flushed and treated right before the test and sampled right at the well as opposed to her faucets which are on the far end of the lot.
While TCG Property Management, did not respond to a request for comment from the News-Times, Muller received a letter from Suzanne Michaelson, property manager, saying “we dispute all allegations. We conduct water testing as required by law. We are in compliance with state standards.”
Muller said she is at a loss. Parkwood Manor is already among the cheapest housing available in Oak Harbor. She cannot move, and there are few legal avenues.
Travis Whitaker, Muller’s neighbor, said many in the neighborhood are in a similar situation if the park were to close as opposed to fixing the water.
“You think you have a homeless problem now,” he said. “It’s going to be terrible.”
Denis Muller, a resident of Parkwood Manor Mobile Home Park, holds a glass of water that reports show have “unsatisfactory” level of coliform. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Photo by Sam Fletcher Denise Muller attributes her rashes to coliform in her water.
Denise Muller attributes her hair falling out to coliform in her water. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Denis Muller, a resident of Parkwood Manor Mobile Home Park, pours a glass of water that reports show have “unsatisfactory” level of coliform. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Denis Muller, a resident of Parkwood Manor Mobile Home Park, purchases drinking water to avoid her water system. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
