Neighbors go to court over drainfield

Neighbors have gone to court to stop a large, community drainfield from being built in the Barclay Meadows subdivision.

The drainfield would serve 10 to 30 homes in the new Timber Creek development. The lots will have their own septic tanks but are too small for their own drainfields, so developer J. Bruce Forbes has proposed piping the liquids to two 10-acre parcels across the street from the development.

Barclay Meadows neighbor Jo Thompson doesn't think that is a good idea.

"Septic systems fail. And this one, for 10 to 30 homes, may become a nuisance, in the opinion of our attorney. We don't want to wait to find out," Thompson said.

Forbes says Thompson's concerns are unfounded. The drainfield, he says, meets Department of Environmental Quality standards. The drain field would be temporary, in use only until the city sewer is completed, according to Forbes.

Thompson believes the combination of high water tables in the area, and the proximity of Indian Ford and Squaw Creek, represent special concerns. Along with John Morris and John Leavitt, she has hired an engineer to review the possible impacts.

In the meantime, the three have filed a motion in circuit court to halt the drainfield. They claim the 20 acres on which it would sit are part of the Barclay Meadows subdivision, which in their opinion, has covenants, codes and restrictions that prohibit piping in sewage from off-site.

The complaint quotes section 9 of the Barclay Meadows CCRs, which reads, "no commercial, professional, noxious, or offensive tract or activity shall be carried on upon (sic) any Lot, nor shall anything be done thereon which may become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood."

Forbes says that he has tried to address concerns of the neighbors, even going so far as offering to drill a well for Thompson to replace what he said was Thompson's 27-foot, hand-dug well.

"I did that because I would rather spend the money on a well than on attorneys," Forbes said.

Forbes says that DEQ has required a "cap" of additional dirt on the otherwise normal drainfield, because shallow hard pan would prevent effluent from draining down. The hard pan protects local wells, Forbes said, and the extra soil will hold the effluent for evaporation. Eventually, grass would grow on the site.

"It is going to enhance the appearance of property she (Thompson) drives by every day," said Forbes.

Forbes says if he is not allowed to use the Barclay Meadows property for the drainfield, he can put the drainfield on a 40-acre parcel he owns just across the street but outside of the Barclay Meadows subdivision.

While this would move the drainfield farther from properties of those opposing it, there would be no additional benefit to the opposing homeowners, according to Forbes.

Thompson said she doesn't like that option either, since it would move the drainfield closer to Squaw Creek, but acknowledged there would be little she could do about it.

A hearing on the motion is scheduled for May 10, before Judge Sullivan at the Deschutes County Courthouse.