The Outhouse Is In : Portable Privies Hit Streets While Sewer Is Out, but Laguna Residents Aren’t Going for the Idea

LAGUNA BEACH —  Two days after moving into the upscale community where sewer repairs began Wednesday, Drew Dougherty glanced over his shoulder at the portable toilets sitting at the curb and lamented the lack of amenities ordinarily taken for granted.

“No cable and no toilet,” said Dougherty, whose television wiring, like the neighborhood sewers, were disconnected. “It’s hell in this neighborhood.”

Under normal circumstances, the oceanfront Victoria Beach community--which includes the homes of actress Bette Midler and former football star O. J. Simpson--might seem like heaven. But Wednesday, it was the starting point for repair crews who will spend the next month renovating a 50-year-old sewer pipe.

During that time, residents are being asked to refrain from using showers, washing dishes and flushing toilets from about 9 a.m. until midnight. To ease the frustration, the city on Wednesday began installing portable toilets along streets where work is underway.

Last week, as city workers began distributing notices in the neighborhood, residents wondered aloud whether the portable johns would strain relations or stimulate conversation in their community.

But Wednesday morning, after the bulky gray outhouses--one each for males and females on each affected block--were wrestled off a flatbed truck by a delivery man and noisily shoved to the side of the street, they mostly sat empty in the sea breeze.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to use them, I really don’t,” said Laurie Kirkland, who was disappointed by the loss of water service because her 5-year-old daughter was sick. “I want her to steam in the shower and I want to cool her temperature down in a cool bath. I can’t do that, so I’m frustrated.”

So was Dougherty.

“It’s off to a friend’s house,” he said, standing outside his new home. “One more cappuccino and I’m going to be in trouble.”

Most residents along Sunset Terrace, where a dozen homes were affected, and Victoria Drive, where two homes were affected, were not home when the sewer work began at about 10:15 a.m. But four Sunset Terrace residents interviewed said they had no intention of using the outdoor versions of old-style water closets.

“In a neighborhood like this, people will go to their friends’ (homes) or something,” said resident Nancy Nee. “I can’t imagine anyone going out in the street and using a porta-potty.”

In tackling the massive sewer project, the city chose for the first time to employ a repair technique which involves inserting a flexible plastic tube in the line. The method eliminates the need for excavation--which could save $1 million, according to Fred Moore, sales manager for the company handling the repairs--but requires that homes in the immediate vicinity of the repair work be disconnected from sewer lines for about 15 hours.

On most days, about 20 homes at a time are expected to lose service. Water will not be turned off at the homes, but residents have been warned that using water could result in messy backups of sewer sludge.

“So far, people have been very understanding,” said City Engineer Ross Cox, who watched as repair crews wiggled a pristine sewer lining down a manhole.

“You just take it in stride,” said Sunset Terrace resident David Atkinson. “It’s something that’s got to be done. They’d be really grumbling if they were digging (the pipes) up.”

The aging sewer line runs roughly parallel to South Coast Highway, from Cardinal Way north to the intersection of Calliope and Glenneyre streets. Crews will be off today and will resume work Friday at Sunset Terrace, working their way north to the highway.

Next week, repairs will continue on the inland side of the highway--on Monday from Arch to Moss streets, on Wednesday from Moss to Center Street, and on Friday from Agate Street, along Glenneyre, to just south of Calliope.