DANA POINT : Council OKs $90,000 for Drainage System

The City Council this week approved spending $90,000 to install an underground drainage system to alleviate flooding in the Dana Crest neighborhood, where cracked streets and foundations, flooded lawns and one case of a pool of water popping from the ground have plagued residents.

The council voted 4 to 0 Tuesday to approve the installation of underground pipes to trap excess water that has surfaced throughout the community, particularly in the Jeremiah Drive, Seth Circle and Benjamin Circle neighborhoods. Councilman Bill Bamattre abstained because he owns property in the neighborhood.

A consultant’s report indicated that water surfaces in the neighborhood because it cannot drain beneath the thin layer of clay soil that covers solid bedrock. Although the problems have plagued the residents of Dana Crest for years, they became known to the city last year when the South Coast Water District began water reclamation work along Jeremiah Drive.

The flooding is exacerbated when asphalt roadways or any other construction is placed over the clay soil, or during normal watering, said Dennis Jue, Dana Point’s city engineer. With nowhere to go, the trapped water tends to “seek daylight,” Jue said.