Case Study – Making Regulation-Compliant Mobile Home Park Wastewater Possible : Modular Water Systems

Preventing Mobile Home Park Shutdowns By Overcoming Wastewater Regulatory Violations

Modular Water Systems Lowered Required-Treatment Costs to Affordable
When Other Providers Couldn’t

THE PROBLEM

After Neville Mobile Home Park’s own treatment system exceeded its life cycle capability and efforts to upgrade the system failed, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued Notices of Violation to Neville MHP. The MHP had been discharging nonconforming effluent into a nearby stream. Waste solids in the effluent, were finding their way downstream and this fact was reported to the Department of Environmental Protection. A local court order was issued requiring Neville MHP to remedy the problem — or face closure and significant regulatory fines. Local News coverage of the situation added further pressure.

“The owner was basically given a court order to get the wastewater system fixed or they were going to shut down the park,” said James Connor, Owner of E&W Equipment Co, who referred Neville MHP to Modular Water Systems™ division. “She had already spent the money that was slated for this project. A mobile home park with approximately 40 connections can’t come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars at the tip of a hat.”

THE SOLUTION

Based upon the statutory requirements defined by the regulatory authorities, Modular Water Systems proposed to furnish a prefabricated wastewater treatment plant based on a membrane bioreactor (MBR) process, recommending its EveraSKID 10,000 Gallon Per Day MBR Treatment System as an excellent equipment solution for this project.

THE RESULT

The system was designed to treat the specified influent flow rate and organic loading to produce an effluent that met or exceeded the maximum stipulated effluent conditions as further described in the table below. The system performed beyond expectation and water quality met or exceeded regulatory standards. The customer averted a large fine and was once again allowed to discharge effluent into the creek.

ONSITE FEEDBACK

James Connor, Owner of E&W Equipment Company tells the Neville Mobile Home Park story

THE SYSTEM

MEETING EFFLUENT STANDARDS

Constituent	Influent	Effluent (max)
Flow Rate	10,000 GPD (ADF)	—
BOD5	300 mg/L	< 10 mg/L
TSS	300 mg/L	< 10 mg/L
NH3	50 mg/L	< 3 mg/L / 9 mg/L : Summer / Winter
Phosphorous	15 mg/L	< 0.5
pH	6.5 to 8.5	6.5 to 8.5
Fats, Oils, Grease	< 10 mg/L	NA
Water Temperature	40 F to 95 F	< 105 F

GPD-Gallons Per Day , ADF-Average Daily Flow
BOD-Biological Oxygen Demand is a measurement of the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) that is used by aerobic microorganisms when decomposing organic matter in water. When BOD levels are high, dissolved oxygen levels decrease because the oxygen that is available in the water is being consumed by the bacteria.
BOD5-The 5-day biochemical oxygen demand is the total amount of oxygen used by microorganisms decomposing organic matter. BOD increases each day until the ultimate BOD is reached, usually in 50 to 70 days. BOD usually refers to the 5-day BOD.
TSS-Total Suspended Solids is the dry-weight of suspended particles, that are not dissolved, in a sample of water that can be trapped by a filter that is analyzed using a filtration apparatus.
TKN-Total Kjedhal Nitrogen is the U.S. EPA-approved parameter used to measure organic nitrogen and ammonia, ammonium salts, nitrites, nitrates, and organic nitrogen compounds.

TECHNICAL — MEMBRANE BIOREACTORS

MBR (Membrane bioreactor) Systems combine Activated Sludge Biological Treatment and Liquid-Solids separation in a single-step process
MBR Systems are capable of achieving significantly higher levels of wastewater treatment in a smaller footprint AND without the need for an experienced wastewater operator
MBR Systems significantly reduce operator labor requirements due to PLC based automation and self monitoring & self-diagnostic process adjustments

SOLVING MHP WASTEWATER

The United States has approximately 45,000 mobile home parks and of those nearly 90% are still owned by mom and pop operators, an estimated 40,000. Also known as manufactured housing communities, these parks are home to more than 22 million people, about 6% of the country’s housing stock.

VIrtually all of these MHPs were built between 1950 and 1970, making them 50-70 years old, and the majority employ septic systems for their wastewater management, most relying on the originally installed system.

Magnitude of the MHP Wastewater Dilemma

Considering the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association’ (WWEMA) 2020 position statement claiming, “Every year a quarter of the U.S. population discharges an astounding one trillion gallons of raw, untreated wastewater and other toxic materials into more than 21 million septic tanks, nearly half of which do not function properly,” this is cause for real concern. With MHPs comprising 6% of housing stock, that means at minimum, 630,000 suspect trailer park septics. Failing septic systems can have devastating effects on the local environment.

About Septic Systems

However, this is not to say that all septic systems are bad, far from it. On their ‘About Septic Systems’ page, updated in July 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency states:

“Septic systems are also called:

decentralized wastewater treatment systems,
onsite wastewater treatment systems,
cluster systems,
package plants,
on-lot systems,
individual sewage disposal systems, and
private sewage systems.

There are various types of septic or decentralized wastewater treatment systems. If a system is properly installed, sited and maintained it can protect public health, preserve valuable water resources, and maintain economic vitality in a community. Decentralized systems are a cost-effective and long-term option for treating wastewater, particularly in less densely populated areas.

The benefits of using decentralized wastewater treatment systems include:

Public health benefits – Proper use of decentralized systems reduces the risk of disease transmission and human exposure to pathogens, which can occur through drinking water, surface water and shellfish bed contamination.
Environmental benefits – Wastewater treatment removes pollution from surface water, recharges groundwater and replenishes aquifers.
Economic benefits – Decentralized wastewater systems help communities reduce large infrastructure and energy costs to collect and treat wastewater.”

Conclusion

In other words, properly managed septic systems are an asset. As clearly demonstrated in this case study, Modular Water Systems’ EveraSKID 10K MBR wastewater system competently delivers this very decentralized treatment capability, and solves the MHP wastewater management problem.

Mobile Homes
Historical Context

The first trailer park was built in 1913, and by the late 1930s, manufactured homes were also becoming available. Mobile home parks grew significantly during and after World War II. The war created a housing shortage, and the government ordered 150,000 mobile homes between 1940 and 1945 to house returning GIs, war workers, and construction workers. Private developers also built parks near agricultural areas and railroads to provide housing for these workers. (READ MORE)

As the units grew in size and transportation costs increased, production became more decentralized, with plants being built closer to where the homes would be used. For example, in 1952, Texas had two mobile home plants, and Florida had one. By 1972, Florida had 70 plants, and 45 states had mobile home plants in total.

Mobile home parks were once marketed as an alternative to apartments, and were often upscale and glamorous. Over time, the demographics of mobile home parks changed, and they became more affordable. Today, mobile home parks are considered a permanent housing option for many who see the advantages of living in clean, safe, and affordable communities.

THE MOM AND POPS

This is where Water On Demand™ comes in, which enables water as a service. This everyday-investor funded initiative aims to allow these businesses and communities access to Modular Water’s instant, drop-in-place water treatment solutions, just like the system commissioned by Neville. Except, instead of having to pay a large, up-front capital expense they can’t afford, the MHPs simply pay as they go. Had Water On Demand’s finance option been available to Neville Mobile Home Court in the beginning, selling equity in the business to raise additional capital to purchase the EveraSKID unit may have been avoided.

PROVIDING AN END TO END SOLUTION

In March of 2024, Water On Demand announced a partnership in West Central Texas with Enviromaintenance, a service provider for Mobile Home Parks in the Greater Central Texas Region, with small-scale replacement systems requiring advanced treatment and tank technologies. Modular Water Systems’ 5,000 gallon per day EveraSKID MBR Wastewater Treatment unit is already pre-approved by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for this type of application. This is an ideal size for MHPs, in single, double or triple pods and Water On Demand has now entered the developmental stage of piloting a model intended to deliver “water as a service” to end-users like these MHPs with little or no upfront capital required.

In addition to Texas-based MHP providers, there is also a huge nationwide install base with tens of thousands of trailer parks vitally in need of this type of simple and workable, onsite wastewater treatment solution, right now!

Water On Demand’s parent company, OriginClear, also recently announced network management intended via Klir, the “water utilities operating system.” And OriginClear has committed to helping Water On Demand fund this.

“Modular Water Systems and its affiliated Water On Demand business model can offer a unique financing model that makes these systems affordable for MHP owners, while enabling them to significantly reduce their dependence on expensive municipal water grids,” said Enviromaintenance owner Bryan Klepzig. “This combination of project financing and equipment delivery could turbocharge the rollout of these systems, as it greatly simplifies the delivery of much-needed on-site wastewater solutions. We are honored to help pilot this new way of solving a problem within the current system of wastewater treatment.”

THE FUTURE IS MASSIVE

Major investment firms such as Berkshire Hathaway, Equity Group Investments and Blackstone have taken interest and heavily invested in Manufactured Homes in recent years as well as other investment firms like Carlyle Group and Apollo Global Management. Mobile home parks are growing in popularity for a multitude of reasons — and investing in this space has a lot of potential. That they selected the Affordable Housing sector is not an accident. The fact that Modular Water Systems can essentially failsafe MHP wastewater treatment through our application enables access to the hidden equity in these properties, a winning combination.