A massive 64-page lawsuit has been filed against California’s Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, along with other defendants, for “negligence” following flooding that devastated the communities of Watsonville and Pajaro. The lawsuit lists roughly 800 plaintiffs and area residents including homeowners, renters, business owners, and even children.

The towns of Watsonville and Pajaro were the subject of massive flooding between December 31, 2022, and March 11, 2023, as detailed in the complaint. A surge in rainfall caused the nearby Corralitos Creek to flood, trapping residents in their homes in Watsonville. Then again in mid-March, there was a breach at the Pajaro River levee, causing flooding that damaged homes, businesses, and agriculture fields.

“On and around those dates, public improvements, including storm drain infrastructure and the public works known as the Pajaro Flood Control Project, failed and gave way at flows within their normal operating and design capacity discharging water, silt, and debris upon and across Plaintiffs’ properties all to the damage of Plaintiffs and their property.” The lawsuit argues.

The New Year's Eve flooding caused floodwaters to funnel into low-lying farming fields. There, the water was collected in a privately maintained drainage basin connected to the fields. The water gathered at the basin created a temporary dam that overwhelmed flood channels at nearby Bridge Street, causing water to overflow into nearby neighborhoods.

Property owners, business owners, renters, and others claim that their personal property was damaged or washed away with “little to no advance warning.”

Pajaro resident Jesus Ibarra shared with local outlet KION46, “I care about my house. People care about their homes, even though people are renting, people still need help."

Another Pajaro resident, Lorina Mohammed, shared that after the levee broke last year, she and her family had to flee their home and temporarily seek shelter at the fairgrounds. She says of the lawsuit, "Everybody has the same hopes that they can get reimbursed for the money that they lost, the things that they lost, and then do prevention so that if this happens in the future, it won't be so devastating."

“Plaintiffs’ properties and homes were inundated with floodwaters, including mud, silt, and debris, which caused significant stress to Plaintiffs, and damage to their real and personal property,” the lawsuit maintained.

The complaint goes on to accuse the plaintiffs of failing to “properly and reasonably design, construct, control, maintain, repair, inspect and operate public improvements in a manner that they were legally obligated by.” The plaintiffs fault the improper design and poor upkeep of Highway 1 and Highway 152. They fault the county’s decision to reroute Highway 1 in 1967 and build a new bridge over the Pajaro River as the reason the drainage system was obstructed, leading to damaging flood waters.

The lower Pajaro watershed has been the subject of several flooding events dating back as early as 1955. The lawsuit highlights these flooding events, arguing that the “levee system is inadequate and only provides five to eight-year protection,” and that “The standard protection guarantee is 100 years. A project to improve the levee system was authorized by Congress in 1966, but for more than 50 years, it has languished.”

The plaintiffs are seeking general and special damages, compensation, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and other damages.