LOCAL WATER AGENCIES FILE SUIT OVER ALLEGEDLY DEFECTIVE PVC PIPES

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February 13, 2010 (San Diego) – East County water districts have joined with the City of San Diego, other jurisdictions around the country, and a whistleblower who alleges that faulty PVC pipes are more apt to break or leak prematurely. Helix Water District, Ramona Municipal Water District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, and Sweetwater Authority are the local entities seeking damages.

Not all districts have yet seen damage. Katherine Auld Breece, public information officer for Helix Water, said that recently publicized pipe failures were from aging cast iron, not PVC. But the cash-strapped district seeks to curtail future costs of potential expensive repairs.
 

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles back in 2006 accuses JM Eagle and its former parent company, Formosa Plastics Corp., or knowingly supplying substandard polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping for use in water and sewer lines. That suit was unsealed earlier this week.
 

The 47 government bodies that have now joined the suit are listed below:
 

STATES
• Delaware
• Nevada
• Tennessee
• Virginia
CALIFORNIA CITIES
• Bakersfield
• Calexico
• Chino
• Coachella
• Colton
• Corona
• Livermore
• Oxnard
• Pomona
• Ripon
• Sacramento
• San Bernardino
• San Buenaventura
• San Diego
• San Jose
• San Ramon
• Santa Cruz
• Santa Maria
• Santa Rosa
• Vallejo
• Woodland
• Yountville
CALIFORNIA WATER DISTRICTS
• Alameda County Water District
• Calleguas Municipal Water District
• Castaic Lake Water Agency
• Dublin San Ramon Services District
• Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
• Florin Resource Conservation District
• Helix Water District
• Irvine Ranch Water District
• Laguna Beach County Water District
• Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
• Moulton Niguel Water District
• North Marin Water District
• Padre Dam Municipal Water District
• Palmdale Water District
• Paradise Irrigation District
• Ramona Municipal Water District
• Rancho California Water District
• South Tahoe Public Utility District
• Sweetwater Authority
• Valley Center Municipal Water District
• Western Municipal Water District
 


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