COUNTYWIDE : $1.1-Million Suit Filed Over Pipeline
Orange County filed a $1.1-million lawsuit Wednesday against the Santa Margarita Water District in a dispute over construction of a water pipeline from El Toro to Mission Viejo.
According to the suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, the county agreed in March, 1989, to allow the water district to construct an 18,100-foot, 42-inch water pipeline on county property. But the county required the district to meet specific deadlines or face fines of $2,000 to $5,000 a day.
The work was not completed in a satisfactory manner, and the district owes more than $1 million in penalties, which it has not paid, the county alleges.
In addition, the county alleges that while working on county property, the district severed irrigation control wires, cutting off water to plants and trees. Pipeline workers also damaged electrical lighting wires, trampled plants and damaged asphalt parking lots, causing $100,000 in damages, the suit says.
The suit seeks $1.1 million, plus interest and attorneys’ fees.
Neither county attorneys nor water district officials could be reached for comment.
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