DUMPING WORRYING NEIGHBORS; ILLEGAL DEBRIS MAY FOUL STREAM, WELLS.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

In the past few weeks, some Sand Canyon residents have watched a large truck drive into their neighborhood and dump everything from asbestos and old toilets to pipes and asphalt into the wash near their homes.

The illegal dumping has prompted several agencies to get involved, including the city of Santa Clarita, the state Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

And residents hope officials find a solution soon, before the refuse contaminates the stream and eventually causes damage to their private water wells.

``I'd say 10 semitruck loads were dumped,'' neighbor Jane Fleck said. ``It's not dumping into an empty dry wash. There's a running stream, and there's asbestos and tar and all sorts of garbage. This is a groundwater quality issue.''

The materials are being dumped on property outside a home owned by Ralph Conlon. Conlon, who rents out the house, could not be reached Wednesday for comment. Neighbors said he was out of town when the dumping took place and apparently was unaware of it.

The problem began, neighbors said, when Conlon's property suffered from erosion after the El Nino rains. He was given permission by Fish and Game officials and the Army Corps of Engineers to fill in dirt where it had washed away, neighbors said.

But it wasn't just dirt that was delivered to Conlon's home, neighbor Jan Brown said. Trucks also dumped off what appeared to be construction debris, she said.

Neighbors contacted the city about their concerns, and the city cited Conlon for the debris on his property during the first week of July, city building official Ruben Barrera said.

Conlon was given several weeks to remove the piles. But neighbors suspect that the rubble was merely moved into the wash before the deadline.

``We just bought a new house over there, and we've been driving by to look at it, and when we saw (the trash) we thought, What is this?'' Brown said. ``It literally takes up about half the wash. They could probably build a house out of all that stuff.''

Brown said the problem may have resulted from a misunderstanding. Homeowners' property lines in that area extend to the wash, she said, but the piles of debris in the wash sit on Conlon's property.

Despite that, property owners are required to abide by laws governing streams, Barrera said.

``Dumping there is not permitted,'' he said. ``We're now asking him to remove it from there. We're monitoring the situation.''

Action by the Fish and Game Department and the city has brought relief for neighbors. Testing of the garbage proved that asbestos was included in the debris, Fleck said, adding that wellheads aren't far away.

``It's a really, really sad thing,'' she said. ``It's possibly the most annoying and upsetting dump I've ever seen.''

And these Sand Canyon residents would know. It isn't unusual to see dumping in the wash, Brown said.

``It happens all the time out here,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) (Ran in SAC Edition only) Chunks of concrete are among the debris dumped in this Sand Canyon stream bed.

(2) (Ran in SAC Edition only) Despite the no-dumping sign, trucks have come to the wash and dropped off what a neighbor said appeared to be construction debris.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News