AURORA — In the first year of the state’s new Mobile Home Water Quality Act, 27 parks — more than 10% of those tested — had drinking water quality issues, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“We're concerned about any kind of contamination that represents a health issue from drinking water,” said Ron Falco, safe drinking water program manager at CDPHE.
The contaminants documented range from harmful bacteria to arsenic over the federal maximum contaminant level, high manganese levels that state officials say can be dangerous for bottle-fed infants and disinfection byproducts linked to cancer risk over time.
"We do need to keep in mind, however, that many of the contaminants that we've seen are what we call 'chronic health risks,' so they represent a risk over a long period of time," Falco said. "So in these cases, what we are doing is trying to gain more information, trying to conduct more sampling, learning what's going on and what the appropriate response is to address that water quality problem."
Out of the 27 mobile home parks with water quality problems in year one, more than a dozen are currently listed by the state as “remediation in progress,” meaning fixes are still underway.
Empire Junction Mobile Home Park in Clear Creek County, Johnson Trailer Park in Alamosa County and Circle Drive Mobile Home Park in El Paso County are three examples.
Falco said manganese — found at Empire Junction and alongside arsenic at Johnson — exceeded the infant health advisory level in both parks, requiring warnings to parents and the provision of alternative water sources for babies.
“Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral and essential in the human diet, but too much can be a problem, especially for infants,” Falco said. “We’ve worked with park owners to notify parents and provide alternate water sources, but developing and implementing treatment takes time.”
Circle Drive’s water tested above federal limits for PFAS — chemicals often called “forever chemicals” — which state health officials say require complex, long‑term solutions.
State officials told Denver7 Investigates all three of these parks are complying with the requirements in the state's Water Quality Act, and are progressing with remediation and improvements to their water systems.
First lawsuit filed under new law
One Aurora park — M&M Mobile Home Park — is facing civil penalties and a lawsuit from the Colorado Attorney General’s office for allegedly failing to notify residents about contamination and complete required follow-up testing.
State records show that in June 2024, M&M’s water tested positive for total coliform bacteria. While these bacteria are usually not harmful themselves, they indicate the system could have a pathway for contamination, allowing more dangerous microbes to enter.
According to the February 2025 cease-and-desist order, the park was required to notify residents within five days and collect follow-up samples within 24 hours under state rules. The attorney general’s complaint says the park did neither.
Several residents told Denver7 Investigates they did not learn about the contamination until a year later.
“Not even so much as an email, no text, no nothing,” said Devin Townsend, who lives at the park with his family. “I stopped drinking water from the tap, at least until I hear more about what’s going on.”
Owner disputes findings
M&M owner Harvey Westford disputes the state’s findings and called the June 2024 test “botched.”
“The most important thing you have to do to do a water test ... is to make sure the faucet itself is clean,” Westford said.
He pointed to City of Aurora testing conducted after the state's deadline that found no bacteria in the water.
“It’s safe, proven safe by the City of Aurora. They do 85,000 tests a year,” he said.
Westford acknowledged refusing to post notices telling residents the water was unsafe.
“Most of the folks that live in here don’t have much money left over at the end of the month, so if they got a notification that their water was unsafe, they either have to move to a property that has safe water or buy drinking water. And when we knew it was perfectly safe, we just refused,” Westford said.
Westford said that after the attorney general sued him, he hired a certified water operator and started to conduct monthly testing, as required by the state.
"Not because we think it's right, but because we want to be able to prove that was never a question of unsafe water," he said. "We're not second-class citizens. We have the same rights as everybody else, and they violated our rights."
New tests completed last month showed no contaminants in the park’s water, and Westford said he plans to continue to fight the state in court.
State’s response
The state said the belated clean follow-up test by the City of Aurora was not enough when total coliform bacteria is found.
Falco said, "When we see results that are positive, what we’re doing is trying to work through those situations to conduct more testing.”
Civil penalties against the park now total more than $29,000 and remain unpaid, according to the state's lawsuit.
Advocates seek stronger enforcement
“We’re excited to see the legislation start to be implemented. We are excited to see the state government building a water testing program and beginning to do some of that water testing,” said Alex Sanchez, president and CEO of the nonprofit Voces Unidas, which helped write the Mobile Home Water Quality Act. “We also know that some residents have been getting information, more information than they’ve ever had, so that, in itself, is a great start.”
Sanchez added that the first year of testing also highlighted non-contamination issues in parks, such as water outages, low pressure and the difficulty residents have in understanding water quality reports.
Program continues
The Mobile Home Water Quality Act requires all mobile home parks in the state to be tested within four years. The state is ahead of schedule but still has more than 500 parks to test between now and 2028.
Officials say the program is producing statewide data about mobile home park water systems for the first time. Advocates hope it will lead to changes ensuring residents have safe water — and can trust the taps in their homes.
