County awarded grant to continue providing bottled water to Oasis Mobile Home Park residents
The State Water Resources Control Board awarded Riverside County a grant of $883,930 to continue the distribution of bottled water for the residents of Oasis Mobile Home Park throughout all of 2023.
The Oasis Mobile Home Park has been plagued by issues with clean water for more than three years. It all started in Aug. 2019 when the Environmental Protection Agency found high levels of arsenic in the park's drinking water.
According to the EPA, Arsenic has been linked to numerous kinds of cancers, including of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate. Non-cancer effects can include thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in hands and feet, partial paralysis, and blindness.
The county announced in August that it plans to close the mobile home park and move all its residents.
County officials said this grant reflects the major commitment and funding from the State of California, in partnership with the county and community partners, to address the ongoing water crisis at Oasis Mobile Home Park.
Families at Oasis Mobile Home Park have long faced health and safety issues, especially the lack of safe and clean water to drink and use for bathing, cooking, brushing one’s teeth, and cleaning.
Check Out Our I-Team investigation on the water issues at east valley communities
“We’re glad to be able to help the county provide the residents of Oasis MHP with a supply of safe and clean drinking water while many partners continue pursuing long-term solutions,” said Joe Karkoski, a Deputy Director at the State Water Board and head of its Division of Financial Assistance. “This support complements the State Water Board’s recent commitment of $23 million to the Coachella Valley Water District to implement a regionalization project that will improve access to safe and affordable drinking water in other parts of the eastern Coachella Valley.”
At a community meeting in July 2022, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez heard from residents of the mobile home park who received notice that water from the park’s water system is unsafe to use for any purpose.
Since July 2022, Riverside County, local community partners and the state have continuously distributed bottled water to the community, meeting this immediate need and augmenting any bottled water supply provided by the park operators.
The county partnered with TODEC Legal Center, which has been delivering bottled water to the community on a twice-weekly basis.
“I appreciate this funding, which will help us support individuals and families at Oasis Mobile Home Park,” said Supervisor Perez. “Thankfully, this helps relieve families of the expenses of buying bottled water. It is important that we meet this immediate need and deliver and provide water on an ongoing basis at Oasis Mobile Home Park. It is also important that we continue to build out the infrastructure that’s needed in the eastern Coachella Valley so that, ultimately, all our residents can have clean water to use in their homes and have an opportunity to improve their quality of life.”
Riverside County has been working on efforts to move residents of the Oasis Mobile Home Park. In June 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved $7 million for the first phase of a plan for affordable housing for residents.
The $7 million is from a $30 million state grant Riverside County received to provide relocation assistance to over 200 families, nearly 1,100 individuals, living at the Oasis Mobile Home Park.
In November, the board voted to allocate $279,000 to move 12 families into better living conditions by early next year.
