IN-DEPTH REPORT: Multi-million dollar lawsuit filed over LQ flood damage (Part 2)

Dale Wissman shot video from his home at the bottom of the La Quinta Cove during a storm that hit August 25, 2013.

“An inch and a half more rain and it’s all over,” Wissman says in the video, which he posted on YouTube the day after the storm.

His home nearly flooded that year and he noticed a problem at the end of his street.

“There was a drain pipe, a series of two drain pipes about three feet each in diameter that were just covered up,” Wissman said.

The pipes weren’t just covered up, they were buried under about six feet of dirt.

Wissman told the city if something wasn’t done about it, flooding in his neighborhood was inevitable.

“They just ignored it until it was too late,” Wissman said.

When last September’s super-soaker hit, Wissman and his neighbors could only watch as rushing water overtook their homes.

Wissman’s savings, including his daughter’s college fund, were washed away.

“What frustrates the homeowners in my neighborhood is that the city was put on notice with video and letters long before September 8th and this idea that they weren’t aware of it or it was a major rain event or no way to take care of it, it’s not true,” he said.

All the water was supposed to drain from Wissman’s street into the La Quinta Resort’s golf course.

The course sits on what’s called the “Oleander Reservoir,” built by the Coachella Valley Water District to serve as a catch basin during a major flood event.

But homeowners say the fairways dodged that kind of destruction.

“The resort covered up the pipes for years to widen the roads, to get maintenance materials into the golf course,” Wissman said. “It has kept its visitor at the front of the mind for the golf course and ignored the community for aesthetics and that will get them sued. And they will lose. “

We tried to ask La Quinta Resort if it was responsible for burying the pipes. No one would talk to us.

The drains on Wissman’s street have since been completely redone. The city dug them up and widened them exactly one week after the September flood.

Wissman said it took workers one day to do the job.

We asked the city why it took so long to address the issue. The city didn’t want to comment either.

“We were lucky that the city just simply had to fix the problem but that doesn’t fix the past,”Wissman said. “And I hope the city of La Quinta, the resort and the water district come together to fix the drainage and compensate homeowners for clear negligence all the way around.”

Now, Wissman says there’s a new problem.

If you follow the berm that separates Wissman’s neighborhood from the golf course you reach the end of Bear Creek Channel.

It’s supposed to protect homes from mountain runoff by funneling water directly into the reservoir. Nothing should obstruct that flow.

“These are the guys from the La Quinta Resort,” said Wissman pointing to maintenance workers piling materials in the area separating the storm channel from the golf course. “They’ve been directed by their employer to stock pile construction materials and sod and piles of dirt right in the middle of monsoon season.”

Wissman worries the materials have created a dam that would block flood water from escaping.

“If you imagine water coming through. It would take all this stuff and it would flow to the bridge on Washington. This is absolutely against any code,” Wissman said.

The observation raises more questions about exactly who will be held accountable.

“I hope the city and the Coachella Valley Water District and the resort come together to fix this and reimburse homeowners for negligence all the way around,” Wissman said.

Tune in to the conclusion of our 3-part series tomorrow at 6 p.m. on News Channel 3.