Lower Valley residents want City to cleanup eyesore water retention pond

A lower valley neighborhood near Riverside High School is concerned the land around a water retention pond is being used for illegal dumping.

Homeowners tell ABC-7 trash is being dumped near, and into the stormwater drainage pond. The pond has no fence around it to keep people out.

ABC-7 visited the site and saw numerous tires, furniture, an orange traffic barrel, wooden utility poles, and more trash in the lot.

Homeowners in the neighborhood thought they were making great strides with the City building a walking trail in the neighborhood spanning several miles, even building a neighborhood park.

The eyesore is in the path of where many kids make their way to either Riverside Middle School and Riverside High School.

“It is a safety issue because students cross through there, the dumping that goes on there. And it’s just an unsightly piece of land,” said Manny Moreno, a neighborhood activist gathering petitions to try to get the City to clean up the eyesore.

Moreno told ABC-7 he has already gathered more than 250 signatures. He needed 150 signatures to get the City to look at the issue.

Moreno says anyone caught illegally dumping trash on the site could pay a fine of up to $4,000 dollars.

Moreno and other homeowners want the City to put up a chainlink fence around the stormwater retention pond to keep people out.