Amador Valley Investors v. City of Livermore

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the Amador Valley Investors (hereinafter Amador) for damages in the sum of $93,182.14 resulting from the discharge of treated sewage water into a creek which flowed through Amador’s property.'

The trial court found in relevant part as follows: Since 1964, Amador has been the owner of some 300 acres of land in the Livermore Valley of Alameda County on which it proposed to construct a number of homes. The Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, in order to protect against flooding, required Amador to widen and deepen certain creeks on its property as a prerequisite to approval of its construction plans. The Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District advised Amador that the work of widening and deepening the creeks could be undertaken after the rainy season when the winter storm runoffs would cease and the creek beds would be dry. Amador was prepared to begin excavation and construction in the Arroyo Mocho in May of 1967, but was confronted with approximately 2 million gallons daily of treated sewage water discharged from the Livermore Sewage Treatment Plant and was thereby prevented from…