LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an emergency item giving approval for a site analysis at a Lakeport subdivision where saturated ground – believed to be because of leaking water pipes – has led to a potential landslide situation.
Jan Coppinger and Stan Schubert of Lake County Special Districts asked the board to add the emergency item for the contract with geotechnical firm RGH Consultants to the agenda, because the situation at Lakeside Heights in north Lakeport had developed since the agenda was released late last week.
Several homes have been red-tagged since late last week because of damage that resulted from the sinking ground and ground fractures.
Supervisor Rob Brown, who has an immediate family member who lives next door to the damaged homes, recused himself from the discussion and the vote to add the matter to the agenda.
Coppinger said Special Districts had become aware of significant water leakage at the subdivision, which sits on a hilltop off of Hill Road.
The leakage, said Coppinger, “saturated an already unstable hillside and is creating landslide conditions.”
She said the potential for the landslide is threatening several homes, and public water, sewer and stormwater systems.
They were seeking an agreement with RGH Consultants not to exceed $25,000, although the proposed agreement is anticipated to be less than half that amount, she said.
The analysis RGH will complete is meant to answer several key questions, Coppinger said. Those include: How can a replacement 6-inch gravity sewer line be relocated to serve the community and avoid further unstable ground conditions? Is the public water system at risk of failing due to landslide and if so, where should it be relocated? Which homes affected by the landslide are uninhabitable? And is there risk to Hill Road from further slide movement?
Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked if they had been able to determine the source of the leakage – whether it was a 2-inch irrigation pipe owned by the Lakeside Heights Homeowners Association or a Special Districts-run public water line system.
Coppinger said a leak study is under way, with the final results expected on Wednesday.
Farrington asked if any leaks had been detected in the Special Districts pipes. Coppinger and Schubert said no, adding that there appeared to be a significant leak in the irrigation system.
Schubert said the homes are at the top of a slope, and the site’s geomorphology suggests a history of landslides there. He said the 2-inch pipe also puts out a lot of water.
Special Districts staff suggested that the slide-prone area, compounded with water leakage, had led to the situation.
“This development has had a history of other issues,” said Farrington.
Board Chair Jeff Smith cautioned that those other issues weren’t on the agenda.
Some Lakeside Heights residents were at the meeting, raising concerns about potentially having to leave if the situation became worse.
Coppinger said there is a temporary pump station in place so that sewer services won’t be interrupted.
Schubert said the domestic water side was not imperiled by the ground movement, just the sewer system.
The board approved the contract with the geotechnical firm 4-0.
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