CAUSE OF SICKNESS UNKNOWN; NO MOLD FOUND AT SCHOOL, SOME SUSPECT HOMES.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

If portable classrooms at some local schools are not harboring the mold that has made a number of teachers and youngsters sick, what is?

Residents near Charles Helmers Elementary School say that mold has appeared in their homes and blame an overabundant water table they say lies beneath their Valencia Northbridge neighborhood.

No official studies have been done, state, city and Los Angeles County officials said.

The residents' concerns surfaced after the state Department of Health Services last week ruled out poisonous molds and toxins in relocatable buildings at local schools as the cause of illnesses reported among dozens of school children and some teachers.

Health officials say their investigation is complete - there is no problem in the portables at local schools. And they questioned medical test results that show those with chronic mild illnesses have high levels of chemicals or poisonous molds in their systems, substances that have been found in relocatable buildings in other parts of the state.

But parents want to know why people are getting sick. And they know mold is a problem in the area around Helmers school.

Kathleen Kiser and her husband have spent thousand of dollars trying to keep standing water off their property on Philbrook Avenue, a few houses from Helmers. Kiser says that they now have mold growing in their bathroom.

``We've had a ton of water problems and put in a ton of drains. It still doesn't always help,'' she said

``It's just chronic with these homes,'' Kiser said. ``It's everywhere.''

While the Kisers have their problems, they say they are luckier than a neighbor who has mold throughout the house, including underneath the foundation.

Vicki Collier and her husband Kevin, along with their two children, have filed a lawsuit against the developer contending that water drainage not only caused severe water problems inside their home - causing mold to surface - but also caused her and her family to become ill.

Other neighbors also complain of moldy flooring and carpeting. And at least two people have suffered from the parasitic protozoa Giardia, linked to tainted water.

Perhaps, say some, a high water table resulting from the 1997-98 El Nino floods or watering an area that has been dry for years is bringing water bubbling up from the ground that can't handle the excess.

On a walk through the neighborhood of manicured yards, water seeps from landscape drains and runs across the sidewalk and down the gutter, leaving a trail of algae behind.

``It's all pure clay here,'' said Kiser. ``When water hits it, it doesn't have anywhere to go.''

Gary Bright of Bright Maintenance, who maintains the recreation facilities for the Northbridge Homeowners Association, urged a study of ground water in the area.

``You normally don't have ground water coming out of the ground unless that water table is high,'' said Bright. ``It's been a concern of mine.''

Bright said he frequently sees standing water and algae in the area.

``At times, there's water that percolates out of the ground,'' he said. ``There are just spots were you can see it bubbling.''

Earlier this year, Bright Maintenance replastered the pool after finding that it had shifted three-quarters of an inch from where it was originally built, he said.

``We had movement of the pool,'' Bright said. ``All I know is that the ground water had something to do with it.''

The basketball courts were also damaged by water and resurfaced, according to the neighborhood newsletter.

Bright attributes the constant moisture to the 50 inches of rain that fell in 1997-98 and the watering of the hillside that borders the residential area.

``For years it's never been watered, and now it's being watered,'' said Bright. ``It just can't handle all the water.''

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Photo

Photo: (Color) Vicki Collier, her husband and kids Amanda, 5, and Sean, 3, moved out of their Santa Clarita home after discovering mold growth.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News