We found more concerns about underground water in Carlsbad – this case is on Via Adelfa in La Costa Valley.  Apparently the trouble has been going on for years, and in 2005 this homeowner sued the builder, KB Home, and a couple of dozen sub-contractors for damages.

It looks like they must have worked it out, because construction is underway.

There are many cases of underground water throughout Carlsbad.

1. North Carlsbad – Alt Carlsbad is where our town got it’s start.  The year was 1882 when John Frazier, former sea captain, was digging a well for his farm which covered much of today’s downtown area of Carlsbad, California.  Frazier struck at 415 feet an aquifer of mineral water. Encouraged by his success, he sank another well at 510 feet.   Analysis showed the mineral water was very similar to the water from the world-famous Karlsbad, Bohemia, health resort, so they named the water Carlsbad Mineral Water.

2.  In Benecia, a Shea-built tract in Rancho Carrillo there were two houses at 2933 and 2937 Rancho Rio Chico that had severe soil problems.  It was so bad that the doors and windows had trouble closing just 1-2 years after construction, and Shea ended up buying them back from the original buyers and re-sold them.  One is currently in default, and if the bank gets it and re-sells, they aren’t obligated to disclose.

3.  Taylor Woodrow built the Mar Fiore tract in Aviara, and they re-purchased at least five homes on Corvidae that had soil problems.  They were also re-sold with disclosures – for more money than the original buyers paid.

4.  We’ve already touched on the Marbella condo complex on La Costa Ave that cost the city millions of dollars after the big rain in 2005 caused eight homes to start sliding off the hill.  Further east at the base of RSF Rd., the entire hillside gave way on Agua Dulce, filling the homeowner’s pool and caused many months of re-construction.

A representative from the City of Carlsbad said, “We all living on one big spring”.

If you are considering buying a home anywhere in the coastal region, be on the lookout for excessive ground water, in particular at locations where the lot has been cut into the hill, or at the bottom of a steep slope!