Voces Unidas supports strengthening mobile home park water quality protections

Today, Voces Unidas testified in strong support of HB26-1145, a bill to strengthen Colorado’s mobile home park water quality program.

HB26-1145 builds on HB23-1257, the 2023 law Voces Unidas helped pass that created Colorado’s first statewide program to test drinking water in mobile home parks and require a consistent process to collect results and act on them.

For years, residents have raised concerns with their local elected leaders. Families have brought rust-colored water from their homes to public meetings and described what they were living with. Water that tasted bad, made their kids sick, stained clothes, caused rashes, and damaged plumbing and appliances. Only to see no action. Decade after decade, residents have been forced to rely on bottled water just to get by.

Voces Unidas President and CEO Alex Sánchez told lawmakers the experience is personal and familiar. “I grew up in a mobile home park in the Roaring Fork Valley too,” Sánchez said. “I know that smell, that taste, and that color all too well.”

The 2023 law created a water testing program. HB26-1145 is an improvement bill shaped by what residents experience and what the early implementation has revealed. It strengthens the program so it responds to the problems families report first and live with daily, especially taste, smell, and color. It also tightens accountability so residents are not dismissed when they ask for answers.

Sánchez testified that Voces Unidas and other supporting organizations expected to return to the legislature after the 2023 law took effect and testing results began coming in, to evaluate what was working, what was not, and to address the root cause.

“HB26-1145 is the first of these improvement bills,” Sánchez said. “It makes sure the program responds to what residents actually experience with their water—like taste, smell, and color. It adds real accountability so residents aren’t left living with bad water—and getting brushed off when they ask for answers.”

Voces Unidas urges lawmakers to vote yes on HB26-1145 and continue improving protections so families in mobile home parks have safe, clean water and a system that responds when something is wrong.

The House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee voted to approve the HB26-1145. The bill will now be considered by the whole House.

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