Buried Storm Drain Outlet Caused Flood of 6 Homes : Storm: Caltrans contractor buried pipe last June to halt flow of hazardous waste from ravine, officials say. Hahn says he will press state to pay for damages.

A Caltrans contractor buried a storm drain outlet under 30 feet of dirt near the Los Angeles neighborhood where six families were flooded out of their homes this weekend, officials said Monday.

As residents of South Budlong Avenue shoveled mud out of their houses, Caltrans officials acknowledged that a contractor covered the outlet with dirt after workers encountered hazardous waste while working on the nearby Century Freeway project in June.

The contractor then refused to clear the drainage system until a plan was devised to remove hazardous waste, including car batteries, paint and motor oil dumped by residents over the years in a nearby ravine, Caltrans officials said.

Caltrans and the contractor--Ball, Ball and Brosamer Inc. of Danville--were still haggling over how to deal with the waste materials and the sealed drainage outlet when it rained hard over the weekend.

Six families were forced to evacuate their homes when rainwater backed up 5 feet deep along a half-block-long stretch of Budlong near Imperial Highway in the Athens district. The unincorporated county neighborhood experienced the worst residential flooding in the Los Angeles area during the storm.

“It’s one of those unfortunate things that happen when someone makes a mistake,” said Thomas Tidemanson, director of the county Department of Public Works. “The reason the drain didn’t work is because someone buried its outlet.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who visited the neighborhood Monday morning, blamed Caltrans for the problem, telling a startled state official at the site, “I want you to tell your boss that I am holding Caltrans responsible for letting its contractor plug up this drain.”

“Now, will the drain system work if it rains tonight?” Hahn asked Caltrans project manager Ghassan Dagher.

“I assure you, sir, we will do whatever it takes,” Dagher replied.

Turning to residents who had gathered around his black sedan, Hahn added, “I’ll help you out. . . . I’ve asked Caltrans to pay for the damages.”

Caltrans Deputy District Director J.E. Hallin, however, refused to accept immediate responsibility for the flooding. “Until we know exactly what happened, we can’t determine who is responsible--Caltrans, the contractor or the County of Los Angeles.”

The contractor could not be reached for comment Monday.

Hallin said an investigation will determine who is ultimately liable. Caltrans plans to send inspectors door-to-door today to assess the damage to homes and vehicles.

With another storm expected to lash the Southland on Wednesday, workers used bulldozers to hastily excavate tons of dirt from the covered drain outlet pipe and to plow a channel for directing rainwater into a temporary collecting pond a half-mile away from the neighborhood.

As an added precaution, county workers installed water pumps along the path of the drainage system.

But even that was not enough to calm the jangled nerves of several families who were at a loss about how to restore order to their lives.

“We’ve got another storm coming in--whatever they (state and county officials) are going to do, I hope they do it soon,” said Ervin Ormon, 34, who watched as three of his four cars were submerged in a small lake that formed within 20 minutes in front of his home on Sunday. “As for me, I’ve got to get a pencil and notebook and start tallying up the damage.”

Nearby, 11-year-old Dawnette Green used a garden hoe to push a carpet of mud off of her driveway and into the street, where state and county workers were shoveling the stuff into dump trucks.

“It’s hard work,” Green said. “Might take all day.”

Perhaps hardest hit was Jennifer Jordan, 44, who figures the flooding caused more than $6,000 damage to furniture alone in the home where she has lived for 21 years.

“I’m so mad I can’t cry,” said Jordan, standing in a living room of soaked sofas, rugs and stereo equipment she bought in September. “Where do I go? Who should I call? How do I start?”

Roaming through a kitchen and bedrooms inundated by more than 2 feet of water, she added, “I’m in a state of shock. This can’t be happening to me. I’ve worked too hard for all this.”

Jordan, her husband and 28-year-old son planned to spend the next few nights at her daughter’s home in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, they will be waiting and watching to see who will be held ultimately responsible for the damages.

“Kenneth Hahn promised he’d go after Caltrans and make them pay,” said Jordan’s husband, Matt, a real estate agent. “We’ll be speaking with an attorney to make sure.”