By: April Myers | Communications Associate of ROC USA
CAMDEN, Maine – When Mountainside Community Cooperative’s $4.3 million Water and Wastewater Project is complete, there’s going to be a lot to notice, said Board President Margaret Jones.
Water leaks will stop. Electricity bills will decrease. The rusty truck that hauls sewage out of the community twice per day won’t need to be replaced. The 50-year-old concrete holding tank for the community’s sewage that has a $30,000 crack in it won’t be needed anymore so the repair won’t need to be made.
“The truck is truly on its last legs,” Jones said. “If we weren’t connecting to the city sewer system, we would have to get a new truck. And we have been able to secure the funding because of WISP. It’s an amazing program, and I know we are not the only park to benefit. WISP should be available to everyone across the country.”
CDI launched WISP (Water Infrastructure Support Program) in April 2023 to help resident- and nonprofit-owned manufactured home communities access funding to build safe and reliable water and wastewater infrastructure. Many resident owned communities (ROCs) inherit aging infrastructure that has reached the end of its useful life span, so major investment is needed to sustain these affordable communities for the long term. CDI is a ROC USA Certified Technical Assistance Provider and is administering this program in all six New England states.
Mountainside Community Cooperative has a unique set of needs. Because it does not tie into Camden’s sewer system, a tanker truck pumps sewage from a 26,000-gallon concrete holding tank every day, and then a driver hauls it nearly three miles to a wastewater facility in town. The truck is more than 15 years old, is starting to rust and the driver who has been hauling the sewage since before Mountainside became a resident owned community or ROC in 2019 is unable to drive. Additionally, the holding tank is 50 years old and two decades past its prime.
Mountainside Community Cooperative is undertaking both a water and wastewater project. The total cost is $4,303,369. The wastewater project is being handled by the Town of Camden, with WISP providing a supporting/coaching role.
The drinking water project is being managed through CDI/WISP. Funding for that project comes from the following sources:
- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): $752,198
- American Rescue Plan Act (in the form of grant funding): $919,352
The Wastewater project is receiving funding through:
- Housing and Urban Development Community Block Grant Program (HUD-CDBG) through the Town of Camden): $1 million
- A Congressionally Directed Spending Award (through CDI): $1.31 million
- Town of Camden: $321,819
Mountainside is also included in the CDI PRICE application for $400,000 as a back-up should there be cost overruns. Both projects should be completed by November 2025.
“The co-op is a crucial and highly desirable source of affordable housing for Camden but the current condition of its infrastructure puts the community in a precarious position until these upgrades are made,” said Jeremiah Ward, Program Director at WISP. “Fortunately, Mountainside’s Board has raised a lot of awareness about the need for their project and the need for investment in ROCs in general at the state, local and federal level. This, combined with technical support with funding applications and project planning provided by WISP, has ensured that their projects are fully funded. The Board’s hard work on these projects won’t just benefit current and future Mountainside residents, ROCs across the country stand to benefit as well because Mountainside is already being looked at as an example of how to do infrastructure redevelopment in a manufactured housing community.”
Mountainside Community is a 52-home ROC surrounded by lush trees and forests just a five-minute drive to downtown Camden, a beautiful coastal Maine city. Mountainside was able to get the support of WISP because they were eligible for federal funding.
To be eligible for WISP support, the manufactured home community in New England must be resident-owned or nonprofit owned, in a USDA Water and Environmental eligible area, and in a town with fewer than 10,000 people and a median household income lower than the state median.
The four-part process to apply for WISP funding includes: assessment of the potential project, project development, securing the funding, and project implementation.
There are 140 cooperatives across New England that are eligible for the funding and so far, 31 have applied, Ward said. While the process is lengthy and could take more than a year for ROCs to see the funding, the first step of the process is receiving income surveys from 90 percent of a community, a step required by the USDA.
“I can’t say enough about how incredible the WISP program is. Jeremiah and this program deserve all the accolades you can give them,” Jones said. “In 2025, with their help, we will be managing $4 million of deeply needed repairs and without this funding, we would go under.”
