For Matthew Parenteau, a neighbor's warning when he moved into an Ohio mobile home park now shapes an expensive, frustrating routine: getting drinking water delivered, showering somewhere else, and dealing with a water bill close to $400.
The complaint highlights a painful contradiction for renters and mobile home park residents alike: paying more for a basic service they say they cannot use safely or comfortably.
Here's what to know
Parenteau told 13ABC that concerns about the water at Arrowhead Lake Mobile Home Park in Swanton, Ohio, have continued through the three years he has lived there.
"When I first moved in here, somebody came up to me and said, 'Don't drink the water,'" Parenteau said.
According to Parenteau, residents can receive several notices in a single month telling them not to drink the water or to boil it first. He said the tap can also carry a bad smell even when no notice has gone out.
"Today it doesn't smell too bad, but some days I turn the water on and it smells like rancid pond water," he said.
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He said those problems have changed his routine: he has drinking water delivered, does not let his pet use the tap, and showers at the YMCA.
He also said Universal Utilities billed him nearly $400 after earlier statements showed negative balances connected to a water meter problem.
"I called up there, and they said they wanted me to pay that two months I didn't pay; Their mistake, I got a negative bill. They wanted me to pay for a water meter they didn't provide and they admitted to all three mistakes," Parenteau said.
More background
Parenteau said he lives on a fixed income and recently had his rent raised by $200, making the disputed utility bill even harder to absorb.
It can be difficult to know who is responsible when essential services go wrong in privately managed communities.
When asked about the issue, the park manager said he was unaware of the concerns and directed questions to California-based parent company FTI Property Management.
At the time of the report, 13ABC said it had not heard back from either FTI or Universal Utilities.
The Ohio Public Utilities Commission also told the station that Universal falls outside the agency's oversight because it is a sub-metering company not under the commission's jurisdiction.
What can be done?
Across the country, landlords have prevented renters from adopting money-saving lifestyle changes, including gardening and hanging clotheslines to dry laundry.
When residents are unable to cut expenses and face problems with essential services, household budgets can be squeezed from multiple directions.
For Parenteau, the issue is painfully straightforward.
"It's frustrating. I can't drink the water," he said.
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