By Lauren McSherry

Bambi Green calls herself the “Queen of Clorox.” And some might agree that she has a good reason to lay claim to the title.

The Frontero Avenue resident in unincorporated Los Altos has had to clean up more than her fair share of sewer backups. Earlier this month, on the morning of Dec. 7, a mess of water and sewage erupted from her bathroom’s shower drain and toilet for the sixth time since 2001.

“It’s really upsetting,” Green said. “Something is wrong. (The city is) claiming they’re cleaning up the main every 30 days.”

In total, Green and her neighbors on Frontero Avenue have had 10 sewer backups in that same time period. One neighbor, Tom Burns, unsuccessfully sued the city last year for more than $1 million in damages after an estimated 36,000 gallons of sewage flooded his home. He is appealing the case.

Green said sewage hit the ceiling of her other neighbor’s bathroom during another backup. Green’s worst backup started with sewage bubbling out of her shower early one September morning in 2001. It lasted until 2 a.m. the next morning.

Green asserts it was more than a coincidence that the city was flushing the sewer main just down the street from her home at the time of her most recent backup.

She said she has had Roto-Rooter check the sewer line that connects her house to the city’s main line each time a backup occurred because the city claims that maintenance of that pipe, called the lateral line, is the homeowner’s responsibility. Each time Roto-Rooter has told Green the problem is originating from the city’s main line.

But Los Altos Public Works Director Jim Porter said the problem is not with the main line. Porter said city crews identified roots and a pipe misalignment in Green’s lateral line Dec. 7.

“According to our crews on site, the backup was due to a backup in the lateral that was a maintenance issue,” Porter said. “There was no problem with the city’s main line sewer, and it was not because of hydroflushing operations.”

Green asked the Los Altos City Council Dec. 13 to inform residents of the city’s hydroflushing schedule.

She told the council that she is aware she is required to have a backflow prevention device installed in her lateral line, but she cannot afford it. She expressed concern that her property’s value could be hurt because homeowners are required to disclose sewer problems to homebuyers.

Burns alleges tree roots in the main sewer line along Frontero Avenue are the cause of the sewer backups he and his neighbors have been experiencing. He faults the city for not taking action.

According to a written statement from Richard and Reema Koo, Burns’ neighbors, they had two sewer backups in 2002 and 2003. In both instances, the Koos noted a city crew working on the city’s main line.

Also during the Dec. 13 meeting, resident Gerry Madea called for the firing of Porter, alleging that he was not qualified to fill the position. Madea’s years-long campaign to change the way money is allocated from the city’s sewer enterprise fund was vindicated last month.

The council adopted a 20-year sewer master plan Nov. 29 that outlines repairs and a maintenance schedule for the city’s 130-mile sewer system. The plan calls for spending $47 million in capital improvements.