Sod Farm Turns Sodden : Flood: Sepulveda Basin fields belonging to a grass grower are badly damaged. The owner had cut his insurance when sales plunged because of the drought.

It wasn’t long ago that Bud vom Cleff, owner of Valley Sod Farm Inc. in North Hills, was hoping for a little rain. Someone should have told him to be careful what he wished for.

Last week, the Sepulveda Basin flood resulted in about 150 acres of Valley Sod’s farmland near the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant being submerged in water that topped 15 feet in some areas.

The Sepulveda Basin fields--which were planted with the most expensive variety of drought-tolerant grass available--contained about 75% of Valley Sod’s total harvestable sod. But the mud, trash and weed seeds deposited by the floodwater rendered most of the grass in those fields virtually worthless, Vom Cleff said.

Equipment owned by Valley Sod--including a trailer, 14 tractors and four forklifts--was also badly damaged. Vom Cleff estimates Valley Sod’s damages from the flood total about $1.5 million.

Vom Cleff isn’t alone. Throughout the region, scores of businesses have been hurt by the recent heavy rains. Although total damages have yet to be tabulated, businesses that suffered the most include vegetable farmers, flower growers and other companies that rely on timely deliveries.

For Valley Sod, the flooding was particularly devastating, because none of its crop losses are covered by insurance. “When you’re farming in a flood-control area, nobody’s going to insure you for flood damage,” he said.

And Vom Cleff expects to collect only a small amount of insurance money for his damaged equipment. Ironically, he reduced his equipment coverage last year to cut costs when his sales plunged due to the drought.

What’s more, Valley Sod’s replanting of the fields might be delayed because the Army Corps of Engineers, from whom Valley Sod leases the land, plans to remove about five feet of topsoil to create a deeper hole for water to collect in case of future flooding. Despite assurances from the corps, Vom Cleff worries that, after the soil is excavated, the remaining ground might not be suitable for farming.

Nonetheless, Vom Cleff said he isn’t out of business. He still has 50 acres of harvestable sod nearby that were untouched by the flooding, and a small amount of the flooded sod might still be salvageable.

“This is one of the worst things that ever happened to me,” Vom Cleff said. “It’s a major catastrophe.” But, he said, “I’m not going to give up.”

For Vom Cleff, who has been in business since 1965 and has farmed the Sepulveda Basin land for the past seven years, the flood couldn’t have come at a worse time. Five years of drought and the recession badly hurt Valley Sod’s business last year, cutting its sales volume about 25% from the usual $4 million a year.

The sod planted in the Sepulveda Basin was about six months old--two months older than a normal sod harvest. Vom Cleff was hoping that some winter rains would prompt businesses and homeowners to resume buying sod in the spring, which is typically the biggest selling season.

But it could be several months before Vom Cleff has another harvest from the flooded land. The cleanup alone could take two months, including fumigating the fields--at a cost of $165,000--to kill any weed seeds that the water brought in, Vom Cleff said. The planned excavation by the Army Corps could mean an even longer delay.

Vom Cleff said he has avoided borrowing money in the past, and he owns all his equipment outright, except for the aluminum irrigation pipes laid throughout the fields. But now, he expects he’ll have to take out a loan to get back on his feet.

He might get some help in that area. Gov. Pete Wilson last week declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, which paves the way for emergency assistance and low-interest loans for those hardest hit.

But Vom Cleff said he’s not looking for handouts. He said he built his business through hard work, lives modestly and has always reinvested profits back into the farm. Despite his current troubles, he said, he’s too proud to accept the many offers of help that have come pouring in since the flood hit.

“I’m not going to accept any charity,” he said.

What Vom Cleff was hoping for--and didn’t get--was a call from Army Corps officials who run the Sepulveda Dam, warning him of the flood threat. If he’d had even a half-hour’s notice, he said, he could have rounded up his workers who weren’t out in the fields because of the rain and saved most of his equipment.

Instead, Vom Cleff drove to the fields on a whim on Feb. 10 and saw that the flooding had started. He tried to drive one of his forklifts out, but it blew a tire and nearly turned over. So he jumped off and waded through chest-deep water, nearly tripping over irrigation pipe as he headed toward his most expensive tractor.

With the water level approaching five feet, Vom Cleff hopped in the tractor and drove it out of the flooded area. It was the only one of his 15 tractors he managed to save. The others will have to be taken apart, cleaned and repaired--a very expensive process, he said.

Other equipment was also damaged. A trailer used as a field office was overturned. A corn wagon floated over a chain-link fence and was found a quarter of a mile away. Soggy wooden pallets were strewn across the fields.

“I’m not blaming anybody for this,” Vom Cleff said. “I knew it was a gamble” to farm in a flood basin. “I’m only upset about one thing, and that’s not being informed.”

Vom Cleff hopes that authorities learned some lessons from the flood, particularly since he recently agreed to another five-year lease on the land. He was the only bidder, he said. “I’m the only one crazy enough to want it.”