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JANETTE NEUWAHLLong term, the bills will be more fair to mobile home dwellers. Short term, though, weary rationers must plot and be punctual.
LARGO - Barbara and Gene Aulenbach are struggling to stay awake throughout the day.
The two retirees have had to change their usual 8 a.m. wakeup time to 6:30 a.m. so they will have time to fill enough jugs of water to flush the toilet or wash the dishes. Then Mrs. Aulenbach stays up late at night to finish the couple's laundry.
It's a far cry from the relaxation the Aulenbachs sought when they moved to Sugar Creek full time from Maryland two years ago.
"It's like we're camping," said Mrs. Aulenbach, 62. "We just have a big trash can full of water that we fill up at night because we can't do anything in the house during the day that involves water."
Starting five days ago, the management at Sugar Creek Mobile Home Park turned off the water from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every weekday to install water meters. Residents were told the turnoff was expected to last three weeks.
Residents of the over-55 mobile home park at 10265 Ulmerton Road have since been without water for eight hours every Monday through Friday. They make a habit of filling up their bathtubs to last the day.
Many residents are unhappy and say a six-day notice wasn't enough to prepare for three weeks without water.
"We understand the need for water meters, but we're just upset about the process the management went through," said Aulenbach, 61. "They never came back to ask, "How can we do this with the least amount of harm to residents?' "
Sugar Creek Park has more than 200 mobile homes that connect to well water. All residents pay the same fee, included in their monthly rent, for water, but because many of the plot renters are seasonal residents, managers decided to install individual meters so people who use little water won't have to subsidize year-round water users.
"We're doing this so that the little lady who showers twice a week doesn't have to pay for a family who showers every day," said Jerry Kunkel, park manager. "It's actually for their own good."
Meanwhile, residents say it's exhausting for even younger folks to keep up with the dry taps.
Residents have asked whether the installation could be done at night, but Kunkel said the generators running the meter lines would make too much noise and wake up renters. The Aulenbachs have also inquired about turning off just parts of Sugar Creek's water instead of the entire park's, but Kunkel said the way the park was engineered prevents contractors from doing the installation in sections.
"The only reason we chose to put them in now is because it's the time of year when the least people are here," he said.
Steve Soltau, south district manager at the Pinellas County public utilities department, said that even if the park was connected to county water, the management can decide how to install the meters.
Still, he said, it usually takes one day at the most to install water meters to county water when the customer was previously using well water. Soltau said it's unfortunate Sugar Creek residents have to deal with such a long delay.
For the residents who can't afford to leave temporarily, the shutdown is making their lives harder.
"There are people living here who can't lift jugs of water around five days a week for three weeks," said Mrs. Aulenbach. "And it's an endless cycle just to go to the bathroom."
Charles Maak, 86, said he can't get out of bed early enough to resupply his daily stock of water.
"Some other parks have done this at night when there's no inconvenience," he said. "I didn't even get time to shave this morning."
Younger residents say it's less of a dilemma.
"It's an inconvenience, but you just have to adapt," said Patricia Romer, 59, who moved to Sugar Creek from Michigan four years ago. "Still, the people in their 80s might need a little help."
The park's management has offered to help residents deal with the lack of water, but some residents said their main complaint is the lack of notice and input from longtime residents.
Gene Aulenbach said he called the fire department to ask if there were any precautions in place should someone's home catch fire while the park was without water.
A few days later, the fire chief called to thank him for notifying the department, he said. Firefighters ran hoses from a neighboring mobile home park to Sugar Creek.
"They didn't even notify government agencies that they were shutting off the water, so what happens if there's a fire and there isn't any water available?" Aulenbach said.
Kunkel said water bottles are available in the pool house if residents need them. He also said the installations are ahead of schedule so he anticipates less than three weeks of waterless days.
"The majority of residents are content with the way things are going," he said.
- Janette Neuwahl can be reached at jneuwahl@sptimes.com or 445-4163.