Since spring 2021, surface water has been flowing along Tollgate Road and down Lake Lane, pooling at the intersection of Lake and Meadow. Residents have said the water appeared after a neighbor, improving a carport, did some concrete work. The excavation appeared to have struck underground water creating an artesian spring.

The water emerges on the south side of Tollgate, enters a culvert that takes it across the road, and then reemerges and flows along the north side of Tollgate until Lake Lane. There it turns right and follows that road until it finds another culvert near the corner of Meadow Drive and Estate, a total run of about four-tenths of a mile. These roads have slightly raised asphalt berms that keep the water from flowing into yards, The pool at the intersection of Lake and Meadow freezes in the winter, a hazard to pedestrians and drivers.

Neighbors first took their concerns to Idyllwild Water District (IWD), fearing a leak. In October 2021, General Manager Leo Havener said that a field test showed that the water was not IWD’s but did not provide any documentation to prove that negative.

Riverside County was slow to respond, and a familiar narrative of bureaucratic buck-passing emerged. Recently, residents have at last seen signs of action — crews flagging, surveying and digging along the water’s route. Riverside County Department of Transportation responded promptly to the Crier’s inquiry, and we pass along the update.

Executive Assistant Lisa Alexen wrote: “The department is currently installing a 10-inch plastic pipe on the north shoulder of Tollgate that will run easterly to Delano Dr; down the westerly shoulder of Delano Dr and cross Delano just south of Idyllbrook Dr. The line will terminate in an existing roadside ditch line on the east side of Delano Dr. From there the water will drain through an existing culvert under Idyllbrook Dr draining northerly to Strawberry Creek. All this work is being done within the road right of way and will not impact any private property.”

Director of Transportation Mark Lancaster, in a phone interview, relayed the following context.

ML: I can’t say if this was triggered by the resident’s work without a major technical investigation. My working theory is that this a “perched aquifer.” This is very rare; it needs exact properties for water to be trapped by rock.

TC: Perched aquifers are rare?

ML: Yes, perched aquifers take the right geologic conditions. I can’t say for certain if it is. I can’t see through rock. There is water. We are addressing it.

Lancaster explained that with a perched aquifer, water is trapped in voids above impermeable rock, above the level of the main aquifer. He also made clear that assigning responsibility for the water is not on his agenda, but getting the water off the street is.

ML: It may drain for 20 more days; it may drain for 20 years. We don’t know what is feeding it. That’s complete speculation. I believe there is an easy way to drain this under public streets. The rest of the runoff will continue normally, but this new pipe will drain this nuisance flow coming from this property, take this water to Strawberry Creek in the most direct way possible.

TC: Were there a lot of water problems this spring?

ML: Yeah. For now, all the run-off goes down Tollgate. All that is draining normally … We thought (this flow) had stopped at one point.

TC: Is there a timeline for action?

ML: I would love to see it being done before November when the rain starts. I do not have a timeline. The priority now is fire abatement, trying to reduce fuels. Everywhere across the county. Especially in low-density areas, where brush grows between sparse housing.

TC: That sounds like Idyllwild.

ML: We will certainly be doing abatement in Idyllwild.

Neighbors spoke with the Crier about the water and the county’s response. Diane Franco said that the former director of transportation said “the county had funds to pay for medical bills” for a resident who slipped and fell on the ice, but “it took repeated effort to get the county involved … we’re frustrated at the buck-passing.”

Desiree Zimmerman said, “It’s definitely been obnoxious. It’s about time. The biggest issue was ice in the winter; water crossed the roadway twice on our street, Meadow. Trying to drive or take a walk, either way you had to cross it. It was a consistent hazard.”

Sue Nash added, “As I understand, now the county is fixing the issue, and I’m very happy they are doing that.”