Residents of Carlton Heights Mobile Home Park, a land-lease community in Door County, say repeated water outages and raw sewage problems point to issues with maintenance, enforcement, and regulation of mobile home parks in Wisconsin.
Tenants have reported going several days without running water, including a four-day outage this winter. In June, raw sewage reportedly surfaced near several trailers, prompting Door County to file a lawsuit against the park’s owner for violations of state wastewater laws.
Door County Corporation Counsel Sean Donohue says the county received numerous complaints and moved quickly to address concerns related to wastewater treatment and resident safety.
“We have received various complaints over time,” Donahue said. “The immediate focus was on the wastewater treatment system and the safety of the residents.”
Donahue explained that the park’s Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, known as POWTS, were found to be out of compliance. As a result, the Door County Land Use Services Department took enforcement action against Carlton Heights. “The outcome was a fine, and an injunction.” Donahue said.
Donohue states that, "different issues are regulated by different local and state entities. Complaints are sometimes made to the County for issues we do not have the authority to address. In such cases, we do our best to notify the appropriate regulatory body."
Issues cited include severe disrepair of the park’s only access road, improper garbage disposal, and reports of some units still lacking reliable water service.
*Story edited 01/13/2026
