Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Residents’ Sinking Feeling : Flooding: Homeowners fear an underground flow may undermine sidewalks and house foundations.
CANYON COUNTRY — When it rains, it pours.
But two months after winter storms drenched the Santa Clarita Valley--causing flooding and damage to roads and homes--a whole new water problem is springing up in a Canyon Country neighborhood.
Dozens of homeowners in the Four Oaks tract are complaining that a flow of underground water is bubbling up onto lawns and down driveways with such force they fear that streets, sidewalks and residential foundations might be undermined.
City engineers speculate the water is coming from rain-swollen underground streams. But so far they cannot answer how long the water will continue to flow.
In the meantime, panicky residents are wondering whether their neighborhood is going to sink into mud.
“We have a major puddle on the side of the house,†said Karen McMains, one of the Four Oaks residents. “To me it’s major because it’s not going anywhere.â€
The seepage, which started two weeks ago, was so severe that McMains said she initially thought the problem was a broken water main.
“It’s literally just coming out of the driveway and the sidewalk,†Four Oaks Street resident Laura Barrera said. “It’s running down the driveway.â€
Barrera, who runs a day-care site for six children, said one adult and one child have already fallen on the wet sidewalk, which in some spots has grown a slick moss covering.
Santa Clarita officials began receiving complaints two weeks ago about flooding in the Four Oaks community, which is bordered by Camp Plenty Road, Langside Avenue, Delight Street and Glasser Avenue.
Some residents have installed pipes in their yards and drilled through cement curbs to drain the water away from their lawns and sidewalks, a solution city officials say relocates but does not solve the problem.
Most residences in the Four Oaks neighborhood were built in the late-1960s. Officials said this represents the first time the problem has appeared during the city’s five-year history, though residents say some seepage occurred intermittently during the 1970s and 1980s.
City Engineer Tony Nisich said Santa Clarita is conducting a “mass records search†with Los Angeles County to determine the severity of the flooding and what was done about the problem in the past. Officials are also considering hiring a geologist.
“It hasn’t been a problem for years because we haven’t had this kind of water for years,†Nisich said.
Nisich acknowledged that flooding could be a significant problem if it continues to seep under the base of the roadways.
“Is it a $1,000 problem or is it a $1-million problem?†Nisich said. “We don’t know.â€
Local residents are more concerned about the foundation of their residences than city streets. About 90 residents met with Nisich on Wednesday to talk about the flooding problem, with some suggesting the city install pumps to drain the water.
“Can you imagine? Once the water does subside, you’re probably going to have sinking,†McMains said.
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