FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Residents Fight Plan to Build Well Station

Residents living near Hisamatsu Tamura Elementary School hope to sink a proposal to build a pump well station on the school property to supply water for Newport Beach.

“This site is a lousy site because of the impact on neighbors and the value of their property,” said resident Bob Moss, who has lived in the neighborhood for 31 years.

His neighbor agreed.

“To sacrifice someone else’s property and lives is unfair,” said Helen Bolen.

Bolen’s husband, Earl, presented a petition with 22 signatures to trustees of residents opposing the pump well station at the school. He said he plans to continue circulating the petition in the neighborhood, he said.

Residents opposed to the proposal attended last week’s Fountain Valley School District Board of Trustees meeting, in which several homeowners addressed the board with their concerns during a public hearing.

Trustees are expected to take formal action on the proposal in March. Two wells would be drilled on the school property, Newport Beach officials said.

Homeowners believe that building the water facility on school grounds will block views, add noise and cause vibrations that may result in damage to foundations.

But Jeff Staneart, utilities department director for Newport Beach, said residents’ concerns are unfounded.

“The activity and any noise around a well site is minimal,” he said, adding that the pump well would be serviced once a day.

Newport Beach has no wells because seawater has contaminated its underground water supply, Staneart said.

Staneart said it is cheaper for the city to produce its own water than to buy water from other sources.

“Fountain Valley is the closest area to Newport Beach that has a very large supply of ground water,” he said.

In addition, the wells would provide Newport Beach with a reliable water source should a catastrophic event affect pipelines that bring imported water to the city, Staneart said.

Resident Bob Nigro said alternative sites for a well and pump house should be pursued that don’t affect nearby homeowners.

Nigro said he understands the district’s need to seek additional revenue, but not at the expense of residents.

Marc Ecker, assistant superintendent of administration-business, said the school district is currently negotiating a land lease with Newport Beach.

Ecker said the district could get up to $250,000 if a 10-year lease is signed.

Ecker also said the pump well station, which would be built on a 7,500-square-foot section of the school property with a one-story building 16 feet to 18 feet high, poses no safety threat to students.

Staneart said Newport Beach is also seeking a second site in Fountain Valley for two wells. The four wells, he said, would supply 80,000 Newport Beach customers with water, he said.