My father and I own a park in NH that currently has 115 sites. The park was previously a campground and its water/sewer was put in about 60 years ago. We do all of our own water/sewer repairs with our own equipment. We are on town water/sewer.
We are constantly battling water breaks and sewer backups. The sewer is clay asbestos pipe and water is 2” poly pipe for the main. The original owners that installed the system did not do it properly, some of the water lines being close to 10 ft deep in the ground and buried over with whatever material that was in the ground (rocks etc…). The sewer is backing up often due to tree roots growing into the pipe ( the park has a lot of trees). The water/sewer bill is about 30-35% of our gross income. I am considering redoing the water/sewer and the roads for the whole park but of course it’s a massive project. I currently am having the park surveyed and it will then go to an engineer, where I can get quotes from excavation companies. I am looking for any guidance/help and or tips through this process. I also have heard a lot about sub-metering but not sure how much it would benefit us if we are always having leaks in the roads. Thank you!
Reach out to NH DES I’ve only ever used their funding sources for private water systems but they might have something to help financially. If you need any recommendations for engineers/excavation companies depending on the area of the state I may have a few.
It is a massively expensive and disruptive process.
Sub-metering wont be a cure all in your case but still needed. I have the CA sewer lines and have had no issues. Have been removing trees growing over the lines that should have come out when small. Have you had a camera in the lines to see if a complete replacement is warranted? Maybe replace sewer line when and where needed?
I have done all my research and there’s no funding available because I am hooked up to town, water and sewer. The only thing that I can find is potentially low interest rate infrastructure loans. Unfortunately, there is no grants available or funding. We are located in Gilford, New Hampshire.
When we bought the park, the trees were already too large to take down. We have been removing a lot of trees with cranes. Every time we have a back up, there is camera work done, and there is always issues with the pipe being broken, unfortunately, I think it is like that throughout the whole park. I am wondering if I can get the town to put their own meters in down the road, to transfer ownership of water sewer bill to tenants.
I would be very surprised if your town will agree to monitor individual spaces for water or sewer. I have only heard of city meters for the entire property. I would go to your city administrator and ask for guidance on who at the city can provide guidance on low interest loans and grants for low income housing. This sounds like it is going to be expensive and you will need some financial assistance. Not saying it is out there… but worth the hard look. Good news is once it is fixed- it will be fixed. Probably going to have to raise rents to help cover some of the cost and then if you meter the water and sewer back to each resident- all that lost NOI is going back to your bottom line.
I will also be a HUGE boost to your overall park valuation.
Very sorry this is happening. Really hate water issues- but they don’t fix themselves and nothing gets cheaper over time.
I am dealing with a similar issue at one of my parks.
We have Clay, CA, and Orangeburg. So far, I am over $130K (01/2025) with repairs, which sucks because it’s only a 42-space park. OUCH.
Putting water meters in will help. We have one park with leaks and put in water meters; the monthly water, sewer, and trash bill has been reduced from $7,100 to $6,300. This is a direct result of Sub-Metering. FYI, you can pass along the usage for the water leaks to the tenants.
You can do an allocated or a blended billing system. Allocated is easier as you just input the unit charge, but the leaks will be on you to pay. If you do the blended billing, you need to adjust the billing monthly, but the blended billing includes all usage.
Water - City of Lakeport (Aqua Village MHP) Allocated Blended Base Fee $39.17 $39.17 Month First 4 CCF per site $3.08 $4.31 CCF Over 4 CCF per site $4.67 $4.31 CCF CA Civil Code Admin Fee 25% of resident usage, Max of $5.34 25% of resident usage, Max of $5.34 Month Example of 6 CCF $66.17 $70.38
To fix the water lines, I would hire a leak detection company. They have special equipment that can detect water leaks. To fix the water lines to today’s standards will be VERY expensive. We have two parks in ME, and the protocol is to put the water line inside a bigger sleeve. IE a 1" Water line is sleeved inside a 4" ABS Line. Something like this:
I would not replace the entire system for the sewer lines unless necessary.
I would pay for the system to be surveyed. It will cost a few thousand dollars, but they will camera the entire system and identify all the breaks, misaligned pipes, and root intrusions.
I will assess all my options once I have a good handle on the problem. You can fix the system by fixing the broken pipes/bad areas. You can also have the sewer lines epoxy-lined. There are also trenchless systems.
Great info SDGuy! My CA lines are about 50 yrs old and havnt had any issues. Yet!