Calabasas : Water District Settles Landscapers’ Claim

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District has agreed to pay $40,570 to a landscape maintenance district in Calabasas to replace irrigation equipment ruined by reclaimed water.

The water sold to the maintenance district contained sand, gravel and other debris, which built up inside valves, rendering them useless, according to an official from District 22. The landscape district maintains Lake Calabasas, road medians, parkways, trees and various creeks and slopes within the city’s boundaries.

“In general, I think it’s pretty fair settlement,” said Bill Millar, District 22’s maintenance manager.

District 22 had originally sought $90,359, but water officials balked, saying some of the damages were unrelated to irrigation equipment.

Millar said the original invoice listing those damages was prepared by county officials, before the city of Calabasas took over operations of the maintenance district last July. Some items, he said, were included by mistake.

Millar said his department will install strainers in the system to filter out debris.