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Trailer park residents given notice to leave after landlord lets water bill lapse

Empty water bottles are seen in the trunk of a car at the Pear Pines Mobile Home Park on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in LaFayette, Ga. Few residents remain after the landlord's financial problems caused water to be turned off at the property several weeks ago.
Empty water bottles are seen in the trunk of a car at the Pear Pines Mobile Home Park on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in LaFayette, Ga. Few residents remain after the landlord's financial problems caused water to be turned off at the property several weeks ago. Empty water bottles are seen in the trunk of a car at the Pear Pines Mobile Home Park on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in LaFayette, Ga. Few residents remain after the landlord's financial problems caused water to be turned off at the property several weeks ago.

By Tyler Jett 6 min read

LaFAYETTE, Ga. – Nikki Cortez took a jug of water, splashed it into a pan and heated it up on the stove.

Mixing in some cool water to make the liquid bearable, she dumped the pan into her plugged bathroom sink, poured in some soap and dipped her washrag. She pressed it against her skin and began to scrub.

These days, at the Pear Pine Mobile Home Park, this is the most effective way to get clean.

“We’re on our own little deserted island,” Cortez said. “You survive the best way you know how.”

It was about five weeks ago, on July 22, that Cortez heard some neighbors shouting. That happens here sometimes, she said. The place attracts a rowdy crowd. But this time, they yelled about a man-made drought.