By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers TOO MUCH WATER--Don Smithbauer stands on soggy grass next to a sidewalk that's constantly saturated due to underground water surfacing in his neighborhood. Please see story above left.

For nearly three decades, residents of Kevin Street in Thousand Oaks have been trying to dry out their neighborhood from the water that keeps coming up from the ground. They’ve dug ditches, installed sump pumps that run day and night and have appealed to the city for help again and again.

"We had water coming down like a stream, running down the curb. I had some come into my house. I dug a ditch and it helped," said Don Smithbauer, a Kevin Street resident since 1977.

Over the years, Smithbauer has dug several 12-foot-long ditches around his home, including one in the backyard that he put a sump pump in to drain 60 gallons of water per hour that seep into the ditch. He says one of his neighbors has three sump pumps running continuously to deal with the water accumulation. Another neighbor spent $15,000 on French drains.

Charles Auringer, who lives a few houses down from Smithbauer, says the water keeps the sidewalks wet in front of his house, allowing moss and algae buildup. The city installed two "slippery when wet" signs. Maintenance crews come out every two to three weeks to power wash the sidewalk so that people don’t slip.

"The water is on the street, in the gutters and on the sidewalks year-round," said Auringer, who worries that the always-present water may become mosquito breeding grounds and a West Nile virus threat. "We’d really like to see the city address the problem."

The problem is not limited to the 25 or so homes on Kevin Street, but is present in a half-square mile of surrounding residential streets as well, between Moorpark and Lynn Roads, including Triangle, Columbia, Hendrix and Marimar. Smithbauer estimates that a total of 150 homes are affected.

Adding to the frustration is that no one knows for sure where the water is coming from.

The water was not always there. Jay Spurgin, engineering manager for the city’s public works department, figures the water was generated by development.

"Historically, this area of Southern California is semi-arid, so it’s pretty much a dry area," Spurgin said. "As the city developed, they began importing water for people to use for things like irrigation."

Spurgin says the water goes underground but stays at the surface, trapped by bedrock. It ultimately makes its way out to the surface, soaking people’s yards, crawl spaces and foundations and damaging sidewalks, curbs and roads.

The city tried solving the problem by installing French drains over the years in some of the areas. It worked temporarily, but the water reappeared elsewhere, where there were no drains. Smithbauer says that the 6-inch-circumference French drains are not enough. What’s needed, he feels, are 3-foot-diameter pipes.

A geotechnical firm was hired by the city last May to study the problem at a cost of about $7,000. The report, available on the city’s website, states that the source may be naturally occurring groundwater that lost its natural drainage when area housing tracts were built. The report further states that subdrains may not have been installed in canyon areas as part of the tract development.

The solution recommended by the firm is to install a subdrain system in the streets and sidewalks of the affected areas and to allow residents to attach their backyard drains to the system. The system would then be connected to an existing outlet drain.

Other cities, including Simi Valley and Moorpark, have had similar problems, added Smithbauer. Those two cities obtained a federal grant and built a pipeline from Simi Valley to the Pacific Ocean to drain water.

In order to hook any drainage system to existing storm drains, the city may need approval from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. A letter has been sent from the city to the board addressing the situation.

"We are still awaiting a response," Spurgin said. "They have asked us some questions and we are getting additional information back to them."

But Auringer and Smithbauer are frustrated. Over the years they’ve written letters, spoken at city council meetings and made numerous phone calls. They feel the city could do more to rectify the problem and give their neighborhood some long-awaited relief. Councilmembers Dennis Gillette and Jacqui Irwin recently visited the area to view the problem firsthand. Councilmember Andy Fox never returned residents’ phone calls and Auringer says they were disappointed.

"The city has tried partial fixes but never completed them, but we’ll keep pressing them," Auringer said.

Gillette says the city is committed to resolving the problem but must first find out what the Regional Water Quality Control Board will allow.

"There are significant unknowns," Gillette said. "We can’t develop a methodology or source of funding until we know those answers."