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Residents Want Help, Answers Over Lack Of Water

UPDATE — Water was back on for the residents on Thursday. CHESTNUTHILL TOWNSHIP — Tuesday night’s storm is believed to have caused more than a...

UPDATE -- Water was back on for the residents on Thursday.

CHESTNUTHILL TOWNSHIP -- Tuesday night's storm is believed to have caused more than a hundred homes to lose water service in the Poconos.

The Department of Environmental Protection says it is trying to resolve the water issue at the Sun Valley Mobile Park in Monroe County, but now the agency is running into a major obstacle. It can’t find who is responsible for maintaining the facilities inside the community.

“All these are empty except for this one, this is what we're down to right now, this last one,” said Lawrence Colon, pointing at all the water bottles his family has gone through since losing water service in their home the night before in the Sun Valley Mobile Park near Brodheadsville.

“So now we got to go to the store, fill all these up again and then come back and use it again, it's unnecessary for us to go through this,” said Colon.

DEP believes a water pump connected to a private well used by residents broke down sometime Tuesday evening due to the severe weather and believes as many as 120 homes in the park are without water.

But DEP says the owner of the park died last month and it's not clear who is responsible for maintaining the facilities here.

Residents say they've been calling numerous agencies for help as well as the owner's widow and are getting nowhere.

“I'm beyond aggravated,” said Rebecca Demund. “I'm borrowing people's showers at this point, it's not fair to them, that's their electric bill, that's their water, you know, and my kids get to suffer in process. We're on our way out right now to buy dinner because what am I cooking with?”

DEP is looking for who is in charge of the park so the pump can be fixed or replaced.

People here say this is unacceptable. They pay a monthly water fee so someone should be here taking care of the problem.

“I feel that if you own a company that you should be doing what you're supposed to be doing, take responsibility for it, you know,” said Colon.

“It's ridiculous. It's unfair and when you pay your bill you expect something,” said Demund. “This is ridiculous, this is beyond and with him being gone, what are we supposed to do?”

“It's going to get kind of ugly when people don't have water in the next day or so because people are going to start complaining and right now I guess we're going to have to wish for the best, hopefully something is going to get resolved,” said Victor Sobrado.

DEP says there should be a water buffalo set up at the Chestnuthill Township building Thursday.

In the meantime, DEP is asking for information on who is responsible for the Sun Valley community.

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