HUNTINGTON BEACH : Building Project Tearing Up Neighbors

Residents along Slater Avenue can live with a new sewage pump station in their neighborhood, but the noise and dust being kicked up by its construction have them on edge, and they say they are frustrated by not knowing what new inconveniences await them each day.

“It’s just nerve-racking,” said Linda Luth, whose home is directly across the street from the building site. “I know this is an important project. But I think we’ve gotten the worst of it because we’re so close.”

The Orange County Sanitation District is building the $5.7-million waste water treatment plant next to an old one on Slater Avenue between Gothard and Golden West streets.

Frustrated by a lack of communication about the project and the construction schedule, residents held a neighborhood meeting last week to voice their concerns.

Luth and her husband, Jim, said some of their antique collectibles, such as glassware and porcelain pieces, have fallen off walls because of the vibrations from heavy construction equipment.

Jim Luth said the construction also has caused a block wall fronting Slater to shift and a side yard concrete area to crack.

Streets have been dug up for new sewer lines, and on occasion sewage odors have wafted across the neighborhood.

Slater has been narrowed to a single lane in each direction too, causing traffic congestion, residents said.

“It’s a living nightmare, it really is,” said Marc Takacs.

To address residents’ concerns, sanitation district spokesman Patrick McNelly said, neighborhood meetings will be held at least every three months, and a monthly newsletter will be distributed.

“We know the impacts are going to be there, and our job is to minimize those impacts to the affected residents,” McNelly said.

Crews will be at work today and Wednesday, officials said, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. driving piles for the new station.

Huntington Beach Mayor Victor Leipzig, who lives in the neighborhood, said that the construction, which began in early 1994, is not expected to be completed for at least another year.

“It’s going to be long and slow and painful,” he said.