Pleasanton Homeowners In Race Against Time, Weather To Save Backyards
PLEASANTON (KPIX 5) -- Some East Bay homeowners are faced with shrinking backyards crumbling into a growing creek due to erosion damage they say their flood insurance won't cover.
The homes are in Pleasanton off Foothill Road near the Arroyo Del La Laguna Creek.
For Ted Smith and other neighbors living along Arroyo Creek, it is a race against time and Mother Nature.
"When the chunks across the way would fall off, you could literally hear a loud splash as the massive chunks fell in the water," said Smith. "I bet it was a hundred cubic yards falling at a time."
The land that has fallen into the creek has destroyed the back fence for one home. White plastic piping from what is left of a backyard irrigation system can also be seen at the same home.
Every day, neighbors hope something can be done soon to stabilize the banks. Video taken 10 days ago shows just how much this backyard has eroded.
Another view from the opposite side shows just how steep of a cliff now backs up to the backyard of Smith's neighbors across the creek.
"They've got a swimming pool, and I know the weight of the pool and the water is going to force that to go if they don't do something," explained Smith.
But until officials with the Zone 7 Water Agency -- the area water utility in Pleasanton -- finishes the surveys they have been conducting and the Army Corps of Engineers signs off on an emergency permit, the homeowners' hands are tied, rain or no rain.
While the dry days forecast in the coming week may give the people who live along Arroyo Creek a bigger window of time to shore up the banks of the creek, Smith and others are hopeful the necessary paperwork will be completed before more damage takes place.
