EDITORIAL

Who knew this would happen.

Back in July 1998, the Independent reported 147,000 gallons of sewage

was leaking from pipes beneath the city and seeping into the ground.

Also, members of the city’s infrastructure committee urged the City

Council then to take a closer look at the problems percolating below the

surface.

City Council members said they knew of the problems, but had to find a

way to pay for them. In fact, Don Noble, maintenance operations manager

for the city’s Public Works Department, who was subpoenaed to testify in

front of the Orange County Grand Jury about these sewer leaks, said: “Who

knows what could happen down the road.”

Well, what happened is the problem didn’t get fixed and got worse. It

has gotten so bad that last week, Mayor Pam Julien Houchen, on behalf of

the city, pleaded guilty to three criminal counts in connection with

widespread sewer leaks during the 1990s.

While the charges have been clarified and are now misdemeanors instead

of felonies, this black spot on the city won’t go away any time soon.

The city has been put on five years’ probation, and if it violates

this probation, may be expected to pay up to $75,000 in fines for

violating sections of the state water code governing negligent and

intentional discharge of pollutants.

As part of this plea agreement, the city is ordered to spend at least

$250,000 to assess and clean up any remaining sewage residue.

Many fingers have been pointed as to who’s to blame for letting the

sewage problems go on this long.

But the bottom line is still the same.

The city knew the sewer lines were leaking. Period.

The city knew its infrastructure was in dire need of repair -- roughly

$1.8 billion worth -- because officials said almost three years ago that

when the life span of sewer lines are exceeded, they start to have

structural problems.

And that’s what happened.

Facing the possibility of three years behind bars, officials got off

easy this time. Next time, they might not be so fortunate.