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CLOUDY Temp: 37 °F Wind: ENE at 5 mph Saturday, April 26, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 8, 2002 State officials, and a few residents, are concerned about potential contamination in Sunridge Estates' water system. The 36-home development is outside Medford's urban growth boundary near Roxy Ann Peak. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Water system down the drain? State officials say residents of Sunridge Estates are drinking water from a planned unit development system that was incorrectly installed back in 1986 By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune A Medford neighborhood association may have to pony up $50 a day to continue to use a water system that state officials say is unsafe. State officials want Sunridge Estates to get rid of a lead-lined tank and quit using unapproved and unprotected wells. Sunridge Estates, near the five-mile marker on Hillcrest Road, has not followed a drinking-water plan approved by the Department of Human Services. According to Dave Leland, a manager with the Department of Human Services in Portland, a few residents are concerned about the drinking water system. "We’ve received all kinds of complaints for all kinds of things," he said. "We finally got some very specific allegations." He was told that one of the tanks was used, and upon inspection, turned out to be lined with lead-based paint. While the water itself was tested and found to be safe for drinking, said Leland, the tank needs to be replaced. During the inspection, the state also found unapproved wells included in the subdivision’s water system. "We realized there were more wells than had been approved," said Leland. "If it’s for the public water, it needs to be planned." There was one well in particular that did not have the required 100-foot protective easement around it. He said each public well has to have a buffer that is owned by the water system or protected by an easement. "It has to prevent the landowner from building a source of contamination," he said. The well with the easement problem sits on Dave Harder’s property. Harder is one of the residents who contacted the state. He said that some of the residents learned that the storage tank was purchased as used and was not properly reconditioned for drinking water storage. "It was hooked into the community water system," he said, adding that he was concerned about the safety of the water. Leland said he gave the Sunridge Association a deadline of Sept. 20 to notify the residents and supply bottled water, which they did. The association then had until Oct. 31 to hire a professional engineer to compare the water system with the approved plans and identify corrections, if any, that needed to be made. "They missed our deadline," said Leland. So the association will face a $50 per day fine beginning next Friday, said Leland. Gale Trapp, president of the association, said that association members have thought all along that they were in compliance. He said that if there are problems, he wants to fix them. The association recently ordered a 25,000 gallon tank that will be ready for installation by Friday. Trapp disagrees with the state about the 100-foot easement around the well. "We have an easement that was granted through our CC&Rs (covenants, codes and restrictions)," he said. "We’ll find out in court whether we have an easement." Trapp said the association is "an innocent victim" in the water system issue, and that three of the 36 families want to put the blame on the association. "We’ve got 33 families that are just as happy as can be," he said. Developer and Sunridge resident Bob Robertson said that professional engineers have been overseeing the creation of the water system since the beginning. He said he thought everything was being done by the book. "The state is totally wrong," he said. "Everything was done properly 15 years ago." He said that safe drinking water is important to him. "We’re cooperating on every step," he said. "We have to. We’ve never had bad water in 20 years." "I’m proud of Sunridge," he said. "It’s unlike anything in the city." Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Sunridge Estates was a cutting-edge development in 1986 Sunridge Estates was unincorporated Jackson County’s first "residential planned unit development." Approved in 1986, the 200-acre development consists of 36 homes built in three phases. The development also has two tennis courts and an 80-acre common area, in addition to its own water system, which is maintained by the Sunridge Association — subdivision residents. The subdivision, outside of city limits and Medford’s urban growth boundary, was originally developed by Laurel Crest Properties Inc. Six local investors took part, including Bob Robertson, and later phases were developed by Bob Robertson and Reg Breeze. The homes sit on parcels ranging from 2½ to 8 acres, and houses are priced from about $500,000 to $1.5 million. 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