A group of Claremont residents are taking legal action Monday against multiple cities, local water agencies and Los Angeles County, alleging all share liability for groundwater seepage that damaged their homes after the heavy 2023 rain season.
Victor Asemoto and his family are among the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit who are suing such entities as the cities of Claremont, La Verne, Pomona and Upland as well as the Pomona Valley Protective Association, Six Basins Watermaster and Pomona College. The suit alleges negligence, trespass, inverse condemnation and both public and private nuisance.
The residents, most of whom live on New Hampshire Avenue or Moody Place, seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
“The 2023 groundwater flooding event in Claremont has disrupted the most fundamental aspects of plaintiffs’ lives and eroded their sense of security and stability in their homes,” the suit alleges. “The financial and emotional burden imposed by the need for extensive and ongoing repairs continues to threaten their long-term financial security and stability.”
A Claremont representative could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought Thursday.
California in 2023 experienced one of the wettest seasons in 145 years. As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released water from the San Antonio Dam at various times, Six Basins Watermaster and Pomona Valley Protective Association conducted spreading operations to recharge the San Antonio Spreading Grounds, which span 850 acres on the north side of Claremont that reach the San Gabriel Mountains foothills, the suit states.
RELATED: Claremont investigates San Antonio Dam water releases after residents complain of flooding
The county Department of Public Works, in conjunction with the PVPA, operated the Thompson Creek Spreading Grounds next to the Stone Canyon area of Claremont and conducted spreading and recharging activities to sustain aquifers that provide water to area residents, according to the suit.
All the defendants are responsible for collecting groundwater level data, tracking replenishment levels, establishing a particular water level for wells, then collecting and compiling data, the suit states. But despite the overly saturated water levels of 2023, the cities and agencies “negligently and recklessly” conducted unnecessary spreading operations, according to the suit, which states that in April 2023 the residents discovered groundwater seepage and flooding at their properties and in their homes and communities.
The trickling water damaged homes and caused personal injuries that month and beyond, the suit alleges.
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“Furthermore, defendants failed to notify or timely notify plaintiffs or other residents or publicize the risk of groundwater seepage and flooding in light of defendants’ activities …” according to the suit. “Moreover, defendants failed to provide to the plaintiffs and other local residents the means or sufficient means to divert, eliminate or otherwise mitigate the groundwater seepage and flooding.”
