LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard from county staff about the latest developments with regard to the north Lakeport subdivision damaged by a landslide earlier this spring.
After a short discussion, the Board of Supervisors decided to keep in place an emergency declaration it implemented earlier this year in response to the landslide at Lakeside Heights.
Since the landslide began in March, close to half of the homes in the 29 home subdivision off of Hill Road have been emptied, either because of damage that led to homes being red-tagged and evacuated under mandatory order, or due to residents voluntarily evacuating at the county's suggestion.
Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger told the board that seven boring holes have been drilled at the subdivision to monitor for ground movement.
In six of the boring holes, Dellinger said no ground movement was seen.
However, in the seventh, which is located near a newly installed a manhole at 5382 Lancaster Road, 1/10th of an inch of movement was found to have taken place over the last four weeks in the upper 19 feet of the ground, Dellinger said.
Dellinger said the geotechnical firm advising the county is recommending that a series of closely spaced piers be installed to stabilize the ground, a solution which could be a permanent one.
The estimated cost to install the piers is between $50,000 and $70,000, according to Dellinger.
He cautioned that the geotechnical firm believes the landslide will have higher rates of movement once the winter rains saturate the area.
Supervisor Denise Rushing asked about how piers will secure the facilities. Dellinger said that they would drill down into the bedrock, which would help stabilize the ground to make sure that the relocated sewer infrastructure would be safe. He said there could still be some movement in the ground down slope of the piers.
He urged the board that if the county was going to take this action installing the piers, it needed to be done before the winter rains.
“To me, time is of the essence,” said Dellinger.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked Dellinger about where to source the money for the piers.
Dellinger said the county received a $60,000 grant from the State Water Quality Control Board for design and geotechnical work. Once engineers certify that the new location for the sewer and water infrastructure is sound, they can then go back and apply for grants to cover the piers.
He said $49,000 the county received from the California Department of Public Health is for expenses already incurred in dealing with the water infrastructure.
Farrington said it's one thing to receive grant monies and state assistance, but he was concerned about having ratepayers in the system make substantial investment in an area that he said some homeowners want to abandon.
He made a passing reference to the tort claims that have been filed against the county by the subdivision's property owners, who allege that the county's water system was responsible for releasing water into the hillside, destabilizing it and leading to the landslide.
Dellinger said at some point the board will have to discuss whether to go forward with major infrastructure projects, and where the money for such projects will come from.
Farrington also wanted to wait to lift the emergency until after a geotechnical study is complete.
County Counsel Anita Grant said the emergency could remain in place if the supervisors were comfortable the same conditions and findings still existed.
Board Chair Jeff Smith said he was struggling with the idea of leaving the emergency in place.
Farrington argued that they still have ground movement, need the pier structures, continue to have a temporary sewage system in place and are trying to winterize the area. He said none of the supervisors have been able to read the geotechnical report yet to make a decision.
Supervisor Jim Comstock agreed with Farrington about continuing the emergency, noting that once it starts raining they are likely to have an emergency again.
“We don't even have an answer and a solution, and it's going to become a major emergency again if we don't continue our plan,” Comstock said.
Grant pointed out that the law that allows supervisors to declare emergencies doesn't imagine that such emergencies will continue into perpetuity, based on the idea that something bad may happen.
Comstock replied that it's not “may,” it's “will” regarding if they could be facing a future emergency. Grant said that it's a factual finding the board has to make.
Smith said that the emergency is over and the board should end it. He said a new emergency may offer a better chance at funding.
Rushing pointed out that if a house sliding down the hill didn't result in government funding – a reference to the fact that the governor refused to declare a state emergency for the subdivision – she doesn't think a new emergency will garner support either.
“We have not resolved this yet,” Rushing said. Until the board gets the geotechnical report, she said there still is a state of emergency. “There are so many things up in the air.”
Farrington asked for the emergency to be continued another month.
The board agreed to keep the emergency in place. The supervisors will hold their next discussion on the emergency beginning at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17.
On Tuesday, Sept. 3, Public Works Director Scott De Leon, the county's incident commander for the emergency, said he and his staff will return with recommendations and options for the board to consider regarding stabilizing the soil in the subdivision.
Supervisor Rob Brown recused himself from the Tuesday discussion because his daughter and son-in-law own a house in the subdivision.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.