Residents tell Carson City supervisors E. coli sickened tenants, say drinking water unavailable for 17 days
October 16, 2025 | Carson City, Ormsby County, Nevada
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Two residents of Terrace Garden Apartments told the Carson City Board of Supervisors during the meeting's public-comment period that suspected E. coli contamination of the complex's well water sickened multiple people and that management provided limited water and little communication.
Monica Houk, who said her mother lives at Terrace Garden Apartments, told the board her mother “was hospitalized with the gastrointestinal, with food going down and not being able to keep it down. She lost 32 pounds in a month and a half.” Houk said her mother spent nine days in the hospital and now requires treatment from a kidney specialist.
Houk said several tenants tested positive for E. coli and that two residents were hospitalized. She told the board, “They were treated by their physicians. The apartment 17 days without healthy drinking water.” Houk said residents were limited to a small number of bottled-water containers and that building management did not go door to door to check on tenants.
Resident Deborah Romero Whittall said she had not swum in the complex pool in 11 years but described persistent water problems and personal health effects she linked to the contamination. “I was lucky enough to be in the hospital to have water and food,” she told the board, adding that after hospitalization she is using a cane and has a kidney doctor. Romero Whittall said tenants feared retaliation if they complained and that notices placed on doors were not accompanied by direct outreach.
Houk also cited a news item she said ran Oct. 6 in the Nevada Appeal that relayed a Carson City Health and Human Services statement; Houk said the report noted two people had contacted the health department and that officials had found “no contamination between their illnesses in the water.” Houk told the supervisors that subsequent resident testing identified three people who tested positive for E. coli, two of whom were hospitalized.
Both speakers urged the supervisors and city staff to investigate and hold the property owner accountable. Romero Whittall described difficulty affording alternative lodging and said she pays about $1,000 a month in rent.
The statements were made in the public-comment portion of the meeting; the transcript does not record any formal action or staff response taken on the record at that time.
Speakers asked the board to examine the response by building management and to consider city oversight or assistance for affected tenants.
Monica Houk, who said her mother lives at Terrace Garden Apartments, told the board her mother “was hospitalized with the gastrointestinal, with food going down and not being able to keep it down. She lost 32 pounds in a month and a half.” Houk said her mother spent nine days in the hospital and now requires treatment from a kidney specialist.
Houk said several tenants tested positive for E. coli and that two residents were hospitalized. She told the board, “They were treated by their physicians. The apartment 17 days without healthy drinking water.” Houk said residents were limited to a small number of bottled-water containers and that building management did not go door to door to check on tenants.
Resident Deborah Romero Whittall said she had not swum in the complex pool in 11 years but described persistent water problems and personal health effects she linked to the contamination. “I was lucky enough to be in the hospital to have water and food,” she told the board, adding that after hospitalization she is using a cane and has a kidney doctor. Romero Whittall said tenants feared retaliation if they complained and that notices placed on doors were not accompanied by direct outreach.
Houk also cited a news item she said ran Oct. 6 in the Nevada Appeal that relayed a Carson City Health and Human Services statement; Houk said the report noted two people had contacted the health department and that officials had found “no contamination between their illnesses in the water.” Houk told the supervisors that subsequent resident testing identified three people who tested positive for E. coli, two of whom were hospitalized.
Both speakers urged the supervisors and city staff to investigate and hold the property owner accountable. Romero Whittall described difficulty affording alternative lodging and said she pays about $1,000 a month in rent.
The statements were made in the public-comment portion of the meeting; the transcript does not record any formal action or staff response taken on the record at that time.
Speakers asked the board to examine the response by building management and to consider city oversight or assistance for affected tenants.
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