Car Crash Mows Down, Damages MNWD Irrigation Boxes

A car crashed into several metal irrigation boxes at the corner of Rancho Niguel and La Paz roads on Thursday.   

"I have now verified that the facility that was damaged was an irrigation control station that is the property of the Homeowners Association.  It was not a facility owned by MNWD," said . "I believe it would be the Rancho Niguel HOA. The responsibility of repair rests with the HOA, and not MNWD."

The HOA did not return calls from Patch.

If the damage is to a facility or property that MNWD owns, it would repair it and then collect reimbursement cost from the automobile insurers, Gumerman said.

"I really don”t know what the cost of the box is, as it just contains the controller, and I don’t know if it was damaged," he said. "I imagine by the time a new box is purchased and installed the cost could be several thousand dollars, but that is just a guess."

In addition to large dents, many wires within the boxes were left exposed. There was no yellow tape used to cordon off the area to prevent people from touching the exposed wires.  

These irrigation boxes control the water sprinklers that water the grass, plants and slope areas.

Was your water affected due to the damaged irrigation boxes? Tell us in comments.