Sewer and Water Regulation in Manufactured Home Communities

The Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) is responsible for regulating water and sewer service at manufactured home parks. SPS 326 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code sets forth the standards for water and sewer service in manufactured home communities. The standards address concerns regarding water quality, distribution systems, and the reasonableness of water and sewer rates. Chapter SPS 326 also provides a process for occupants of manufactured home communities to dispute issues related to billing such as disconnection of service, deferred payment agreements, and deposits.

See Your Bill of Rights for Water and Sewer Service for more information.

If you are an occupant of a manufactured home community and wish to file a complaint regarding the provision of your water and/or sewer service, you may submit a complaint online.

DSPS does not establish the water and sewer rates charged to occupants of manufactured home communities. However, DSPS will investigate the reasonableness of these rates upon complaint.

When a manufactured home community operator owns the water supply facilities within the park, SPS 326 states that the charge to a manufactured home community occupant may not exceed the average amount charged for a similar level of water service furnished by Wisconsin Class D water public utilities. A Class D water utility serves fewer than 1,000 customers. The charge for sewer service may not exceed 2.5 times the maximum charge for water service as calculated below.

In accordance with the average 2009 Wisconsin Class D public water utility rates, a manufactured home community that owns the water supply facilities in the community may not charge more than a $24.81 fixed quarterly charge ($8.27 per month) in addition to a volume rate dependent on usage. Applying this benchmark if you live in a manufactured home community with a well and septic system within the community, and you use 4,000 gallons of water in one month, the most you may be billed for the water is a $8.27 fixed charge plus an $11.03 volume charge (based on a rate of $2.758 per 1000 gallons x 4) for a total charge of $19.30. Since you may not be billed more than 2.5 times the water bill for sewer service, the most you may be billed for sewer service is $48.25 ($19.30 x 2.5). In this example, your combined water and sewer bill may not exceed $67.55/month.

Please note that manufactured home community operators may establish water and sewer rates in excess of these amounts if they provide written documentation to DSPS which demonstrates that higher charges are necessary to meet reasonable costs of operation.

Questions regarding this computation or establishing rates for water and sewer service when the manufactured home community buys water from a utility and resells it to the occupants of the park, can be directed to DSPS's HUD/UDC consultants via email to dspssbudctech@wisconsin.gov.