In December, Glendale (Calif.) Water & Power officials issued a statement celebrating the completion of a two-year, $30-million replacement of the Chevy Chase Reservoir.
The statement, which announced an official groundbreaking ceremony, lauded the project’s on-time completion, including the reconfiguration of Chevy Chase Country Club, which lies above the massive reservoir.
Two days later, flooding ravaged the golf course.
The forecasted storm caused a natural stream near the course to overflow, sending water and debris rushing onto the green, tearing out much of the newly laid sod covering the reservoir and damaging the irrigation system. Later, more sod was ripped out as city crews worked to stop the flooding.
“It was trashed,” said Kyle Marshall, the golf course superintendent. “All that green grass that you see now was all leaves and cans. The sod was gone. It all washed downstream.”
That damage dealt a major setback in the city’s efforts to restore the golf course to playable condition by Dec. 31, 2009, as required by a $2.1-million settlement between the city and country club. Project managers ultimately missed the deadline — sending city and country club officials back to the bargaining table.
