Caltrans to pay $41,000 to settle Costa Mesa Sanitary District complaint over sewer pipe repair
The California Department of Transportation has agreed to pay more than $41,000 to settle the Costa Mesa Sanitary District’s claim that a contractor hired by the state agency damaged and improperly repaired a local sewer pipe more than two decades ago, the district said this week.
Sanitary district officials learned Tuesday that Caltrans had accepted the district’s demand for $41,293.50 to settle the issue, according to district General Manager Scott Carroll.
“Obviously we’re very pleased with the settlement,” Carroll said Wednesday. “The money will allow us to repair the pipe and also recover our attorneys’ fees.”
In August, the sanitary district filed a complaint in Orange County Superior Court alleging that a Caltrans contractor had pierced a sewer pipe near 2285 Newport Blvd. during work on a street-widening project in 1992.
The district believes the contractor drilled through the existing 8-inch sewer line while installing the concrete base for a street light. Rather than reporting the damage, the district’s complaint said, the contractor “fabricated” a repair by connecting a 6-inch pipe to the sewer line.
That was undiscovered for years until sanitary workers reported in December that they couldn’t get a cleaning hose through the line to remove debris and cooking grease.
They excavated the area to explore the problem and found the 6-inch pipe section.
The sanitary district plans to use the money from Caltrans to remove the street light and repair the pipe.
Carroll said the work should take no more than a week to complete. Probably less than two feet of the sewer line needs to be replaced, he added.
Though there haven’t been major issues in the area in the 24 years since the smaller pipe was installed, Carroll said it has to be repaired because it eventually could cause the entire pipe to fail or lead to a sewage spill.
The district expects to receive a check from Caltrans in four to six weeks. Work on the pipe will begin once that’s in hand, Carroll said.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
