Syringa residents file claim against park owner

Residents of Syringa Mobile Home Park east of Moscow have filed a lawsuit against the owner of the park after nearly three months without potable water.

Several residents of the park began looking at legal recourse last month as a means to improve their situation, and reached out to the University of Idaho's Legal Aid Clinic.

After several weeks of discussion with residents, directors at the clinic, working in conjunction with students, filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday in Latah County 2nd District Court, listing Syringa residents Stacey Page, Dena Ciminelli and Carol Robinson as plaintiffs.

The most recent water problems at the park began in late November when a cold snap froze plumping and led to a variety of issues. Most notably, high levels of coliform bacteria, chlorine and lead in the water have kept residents from having any drinking water, since even boiling the water merely concentrates the amount of lead. Moreover, what water is available has been intermittently shut off for maintenance, repairs or due to the cold.

This is the second lawsuit filed over water issues against the park's owner, Magar E. Magar of Vancouver, just this year.

Last month the state filed against Magar for 15 violation of Idaho water and wastewater regulations, including failures to properly monitor and maintain the system and failures to provide regular samples of the water for analysis. Magar has a long history, going back to 1986, of noncompliance with Idaho's water and wastewater regulations - a history noted in the complaint filed Wednesday on behalf of some 150 park residents.

"Our goal is to have all the residents that live in Syringa to be part of that class, and to basically tell the owner that he has to provide drinkable water, a functioning water system and a functioning sewer system," said Maureen Laflin, professor and director of clinical programs at the UI law clinic.

Until those needs are met, Laflin said, Magar should be providing a reduction in rent and ensuring the availability of potable water, portable toilets or some other way for people to dispose of their waste, and funds for people who wish to move out of the park.

The lawsuit lists eight counts, including violations of Idaho Code that require a landlord to provide water and sewer services in good working order, failure to maintain the premises in a manner not hazardous to the health or safety of the plaintiffs, breach of rental and lease agreements, negligence in exercising care to avoid risk of harm to the plaintiffs, public nuisance and failure to notify plaintiffs of risk of harm.

Plaintiffs recounted numerous instances of the park's water being shut off and regular failures to maintain a minimum of 20 psi in the system - the level set by the Department of Environmental Quality specifically to minimize the chance of coliform growth.

It alleges multiple failures on Magar's part, as the registered owner and operator of the water system at the park, to take regular samples of the water, as required by the DEQ, for contaminants, including coliform and lead.

Magar is also accused of failing to notify the plaintiffs that the water was unsafe to consume, and was even reported as having his agents tell residents that water was safe, in full knowledge that the DEQ had said it wasn't.

The claim also states that due to the lack of a flow-based disinfection system, and the lack of anyone regularly measuring and adjusting levels, the amount of chlorine in the water can vary depending on water-use in the park. During peak hours the amount of chlorine often drops to unsafe levels, which leads to a corresponding increase in the level of coliform bacteria.

Alternatively, some residents have said they have suffered skin irritations after taking showers during times of low water use, due to the fact that the amount of chlorine become concentrated during those periods.

In early February, water was shut off during a cold snap and caused both water and sewer lines to freeze. When the water was turned back on, the sewer system flooded some trailers.

Many residents have been forced to use money out of their own pockets to seek alternative sources of water, renting hotel rooms just to take a shower or driving to Moscow to find potable water, restrooms and laundry facilities, while others had to rely on community groups for help. Some residents have moved out due to the lack of water and sewer services, but most are unable because of the cost or lack of other housing options.

On Feb. 14, plaintiffs sent a written notice to Magar requesting he provide immediate relief in the form of a consistent drinking water supply, toilets, shower facilities and the abatement of rent until the water and sewer issues were taken care of. He was given three days to respond.

According to the complaint, at the end of the three days he had done nothing to fix the problems or provide any intermediate relief to the residents.

He has 20 days, from filing, to respond to the lawsuit.

Bill McKee can be reached at (208) 883-4627, or by email to wmckee@dnews.com.