CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Clinton Township grandfather with cancer has gone more than a week without running water because the water “crock” under his manufactured home has frozen into a block of ice, he said.
The man, who lives at the Rudgate Clinton manufactured housing community, said he has spent days trying to thaw the system with a hair dryer and portable heat while calling plumbers for help. His savings are dwindling, he said, and the stress has mounted as temperatures remain below freezing.
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“Not even a trickle,” he said.
He said he recently returned from the hospital and should be focusing on recovery, but instead has been working outside for hours attempting to restore service. His wife found him passed out from exhaustion, he said.
Without running water, the couple has relied on bottled water for drinking and basic hygiene.
“Mostly buying dollar store water and putting it in a bucket and heating it on a stove,” he said.
The resident said the crock was repaired last year, but he believes water left inside was not pumped out, contributing to the freeze.
“That it’s just normal that water gets in the crock, which I don’t believe that’s true,” he said about what staff have told him.
Local 4 went to the community office on the property to ask about the situation.
“Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to talk,” a woman at the desk said.
Another person inside the office said she is dealing with a similar freeze-up.
Calls to the community’s corporate office were not returned. Local 4 also sent a message through the online portal.
The resident said he believes property management should help resolve the problem but has continued calling plumbing companies to assess the damage.
He said one estimate included a $465 charge for a visit and $190 per hour after that.
“By the time they are done, it would be a thousand dollars,” he said.