Trailer Park Sewage System Problem Escalates

By Nicole Hindberg on January 8, 2019

Local residents of Moscow, Idaho, are fed up with the city of Moscow’s handling of Syringa Mobile Home Park. Located just outside Moscow, this trailer park has been neglected by the city for years and plagued with issues with their water and sewage systems. When it was open, the park had countless issues with the sewage system that led to their water being contaminated with fecal bacteria, not to mention there is a large drug problem in the park.

via Pixabay.com

According to an article published in the  Moscow-Pullman Daily News, in 2014, University of Idaho law professors helped file a class action lawsuit against the park owner Margar E. Magar. He reportedly agreed to pay $282,000 to current and former residents who were affected by this issue.

Once officers visited the park, they concluded that the expense of repairing the sewage system and water system was too much, so they closed the park back in June, leaving residents without a place to live.

Despite the residents being left without a home nearby, residents say it was the best thing for everyone as the park was unsafe to live in. In June, they were optimistic about the situation being handled.

Six months later, the park is still open to residents and squatters. According to local residents, Avista utilities is paying for their electricity but that has not been confirmed with Avista.

Obviously, the sewage system has not been fixed, so the lagoon that the raw sewage goes to is filling up and spilling over. With all that untreated sewage seeping into the ground, who knows where it will go. There are creeks nearby and many wells that residents use on the outskirts of Moscow.

Local residents went to the Health Department of Moscow and got nowhere with them. They were told the answer from the city was to put dry dirt on the raw sewage to solve the problem. Yes, that will cover up the issue, but the sewage will still seep into the ground anyway. That is the kind of solution and answer residents have gotten from the city.

Local residents have seen countless squatters go into the trailer park. They live within walking distance of the trailer park. They have noticed more and more people coming in and out of the park at all hours of the day. Although they are concerned about the drug problem, they are more concerned about the raw sewage because once it seeps into the ground, there’s no telling where it will go. The not-so-far-fetched reality is that it could seep into the ground and our city’s aquifer. This includes the water supply to the University of Idaho, as there is only one aquifer in Moscow. Local residents have been trying to get the city’s attention on the issue, but so far, their efforts have not been met.

Their next step is to go to the next city council meeting on January 7, 2019, to draw more attention to this issue. They are asking for any support they can get from family members and friends who will back them up when they bring up this issue.

This is a very serious issue that has been ignored for years. The park was supposed to be completely shut down six months ago and all the residents were to be evicted and the park eventually demolished. This issue should not be ignored because our water and ground systems will be contaminated.

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