Colorado Moves to Hold Mobile Home Park Owners Accountable for Unsafe Water

New legislation aims to expand enforcement and increase fines for noncompliance with water quality standards.

Published on Mar. 10, 2026

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The Colorado House has passed a bill, HB26-1145, that would expand enforcement of the state's Mobile Home Park Water Quality Program, add to the definition of violations, and increase fines for noncompliance. The legislation is a follow-up to a 2023 law that launched statewide testing, which found that 10% of mobile home parks have issues like arsenic and E. coli in the water. The bill would require park owners to remediate water quality problems, even if the water meets federal safety standards, and consider negative financial impacts on residents as a 'risk to welfare'.

Why it matters

This legislation aims to hold mobile home park owners, including some corporate investors from out of state, accountable for providing safe, clean water to residents. Many mobile home communities in Colorado have long struggled with water quality issues, forcing residents to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

The details

HB26-1145 would expand the definition of 'remediation' to include water not suitable for everyday uses like cooking, bathing, and washing clothes, even if it meets federal safety standards. Negative financial impacts on residents, such as having to buy bottled water, would also be considered a 'risk to welfare' under the bill. The legislation increases fines for noncompliance and gives the state more enforcement power over park owners who fail to fix water quality problems.

  • The Colorado House passed HB26-1145 by a vote of 42-22 last week.
  • The bill is now moving to the Senate for further debate.

The players

Elizabeth Velasco

A Democratic state representative from Glenwood Springs and a sponsor of HB26-1145.

Jacque Phillips

A Democratic state representative from Thornton and a sponsor of HB26-1145.

John Leger

A resident of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park in Thornton who says the water has a foul smell and taste.

Jennifer Cunningham

A longtime resident of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park who says the water has visible particles even after using a filter.

Colorado Manufactured Home Coalition

A group that proposed amendments to the legislation, according to the article.

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What they’re saying

“There's no price on your family's health and on people in Colorado's health, but it is a step toward making sure that we all have clean water.”

— Elizabeth Velasco, State Representative (denver7.com)

“No one should be expected to cook with, drink or bathe in water that is brown and has an odor.”

— Jacque Phillips, State Representative (denver7.com)

“We don't drink it — we buy bottled water.”

— John Leger, Resident, Friendly Village Mobile Home Park (denver7.com)

“If you don't use a filter and you fill a cup up, you can see little particles floating around in the water. We get the big containers, put filters on our water, but we still don't really drink it with the filters. We use that more for cooking.”

— Jennifer Cunningham, Longtime Resident, Friendly Village Mobile Home Park (denver7.com)

What’s next

The bill has already passed the House and is moving to the Senate for further debate.

The takeaway

This legislation aims to hold mobile home park owners, including some corporate investors from out of state, accountable for providing safe, clean water to residents. It expands the definition of water quality issues that must be remediated and increases fines for noncompliance, a step toward ensuring all Coloradans have access to safe drinking water.