Clean Water at Last: San Antonio Mobile Home Park Families in Thermal Celebrate After Decades of Waiting

Dozens of families in the San Antonio Mobile Home Park in Thermal are celebrating a life-changing milestone that many people take for granted: safe, clean running water in their homes.

After nearly three decades of living without reliable access to clean water, residents can now turn on their taps without fear. For years, they relied on bottled water, makeshift plumbing, and daily workarounds because of dangerous arsenic levels in the groundwater and years of alleged neglect by former park owners.

The long-overdue project was made possible through grassroots activism and collaboration between the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Pueblo Unido, and the Coachella Valley Water District. Recently, five new water meters and essential infrastructure upgrades were installed in the park as part of a nearly $30 million effort that took almost 20 years to complete.

“It’s not humane for families living in California—now the fourth largest economy in the world—to endure these conditions,” a local leader said. “Not only here in the eastern Coachella Valley, but across rural California, there is an urgent need for safe, reliable drinking water.”

The Coachella Valley Water District continues to work on replacing outdated infrastructure at the park. Meanwhile, the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition hopes this achievement will spark further improvements, including renovating existing homes and building new ones to better serve residents.

This milestone stands as a powerful example of what can be accomplished through persistence, community partnership, and the commitment to basic human rights.

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