The Dato's Flood Relief Fund
Donation protected
The Dato Famiy home has been hit hard with water damage due to this past storm. Since Jan. 22 they have had water pouring in from the bottom of their house due to a spring they had no idea they lived on. Insurance and the city cannot help and they are on their own. The water damage company has set up pumps going 24/7 to keep the water from damaging the walls etc. The floors have been ripped up and all furniture has been moved. Jen, Greg, and the boys are at her parents for a while until they can figure out how they will tackle this disaster.
Lets all come together to help this awesome family we adore! Thank you!
This is a letter from Greg:
I was asked to write something about our struggle. Please let me know if the following is ok or do you need something different. I didn't know what was apropos. Please pardon typos as I wrote it from my phone.
My name is Greg Dato, my wife is Jennifer, my sons are Luke and Brett. My wife and I have lived in our home in Agoura Hills since we got married in 2004. Since then we've had two wonderful sons and have been active in the community as I lead a Cub Scout group, coach basketball and Jen works at Yerba Buena. Our boys open the City Council meetings wth the Cub Scout flag ceremony every month as part if their civic duty.
On Monday night, 1/23, at 8:30, our home suddenly started filling with water from underneath. Wherever a utility pipe came through our slab, water was pushing through that weakness and filling our home. It was as though an underground tide started flowing into our house.
At first, we called a service company to help us and they came out and took a look at the situation and told us to call them when the water stopped. Our wonderful family and friends rallied around us and started a reverse bucket brigade to vacuum water and dump it outside. Fire Station 89 came out to assist us and provided much needed manpower to help us get pumps going, protect furniture and start a dewatering well in the backyard. The Las Virgines MWD came out Tuesday and tested the water and determined it is groundwater and not treated water. The Red Cross came out to help and provided some money to get some food and a hotel.
Tuesday, Mahaffey Drilling deployed equipment to help us dig some dewatering wells and Charles Buckley of California Environmental in Agoura Hills donated his time to help guide in the well installation. So far, we have been unable to stop the water flowing through our home but we will start deeper well installation on 1/30. There is just too much water under Agoura Hills for us to intercept.
Fortunately, we called Aaron Shiah of ServiceMaster and he and his team came to our rescue on Wednesday night. Our reverse bucket brigade ran for 36 hours straight but Aaron came in and installed experimental pumping systems to manage the flow in the house. It is now flowing in and being captured but the damage is done as our downstairs is nearly gutted.
It seems Agoura Hills has underground water issues that have never been addressed. You can see water pouring out of the ground in many street locations, at the local parks, just random locations. Now it is coming into our home because the topology before the tract was installed shows a creekbed where our house was built. Insurance doesn't cover this even if we had flood insurance because it only affects 1 house. The city came out and said it's not their issue even though they permitted the house to be built here. We are looking into help from the State of CA after a State of Emergency was declared but thus far we have gotten no help from them.
We are being helped by so many in the community and we are forever grateful for their kindness and assistance. They have helped us bucket brigade, evacuate, move things to storage, drive our boys to practices and school and countless other things. We are all safe so we are thankful for that.
We are also tired, beat-up and angry as no agency will step up to help. How can someone be allowed to build a house where underground water flows unpredictably? Now it's our problem? To add insult to injury, I'm scheduled to be laid off this summer as my employer, Toyota, leaves California. My rainy day fund was planned for that but now it is being spent to repair my home.
My wife's motto was always "never give up and never surrender" and that's how we are rolling.
Sincerely,
Greg
Lets all come together to help this awesome family we adore! Thank you!
This is a letter from Greg:
I was asked to write something about our struggle. Please let me know if the following is ok or do you need something different. I didn't know what was apropos. Please pardon typos as I wrote it from my phone.
My name is Greg Dato, my wife is Jennifer, my sons are Luke and Brett. My wife and I have lived in our home in Agoura Hills since we got married in 2004. Since then we've had two wonderful sons and have been active in the community as I lead a Cub Scout group, coach basketball and Jen works at Yerba Buena. Our boys open the City Council meetings wth the Cub Scout flag ceremony every month as part if their civic duty.
On Monday night, 1/23, at 8:30, our home suddenly started filling with water from underneath. Wherever a utility pipe came through our slab, water was pushing through that weakness and filling our home. It was as though an underground tide started flowing into our house.
At first, we called a service company to help us and they came out and took a look at the situation and told us to call them when the water stopped. Our wonderful family and friends rallied around us and started a reverse bucket brigade to vacuum water and dump it outside. Fire Station 89 came out to assist us and provided much needed manpower to help us get pumps going, protect furniture and start a dewatering well in the backyard. The Las Virgines MWD came out Tuesday and tested the water and determined it is groundwater and not treated water. The Red Cross came out to help and provided some money to get some food and a hotel.
Tuesday, Mahaffey Drilling deployed equipment to help us dig some dewatering wells and Charles Buckley of California Environmental in Agoura Hills donated his time to help guide in the well installation. So far, we have been unable to stop the water flowing through our home but we will start deeper well installation on 1/30. There is just too much water under Agoura Hills for us to intercept.
Fortunately, we called Aaron Shiah of ServiceMaster and he and his team came to our rescue on Wednesday night. Our reverse bucket brigade ran for 36 hours straight but Aaron came in and installed experimental pumping systems to manage the flow in the house. It is now flowing in and being captured but the damage is done as our downstairs is nearly gutted.
It seems Agoura Hills has underground water issues that have never been addressed. You can see water pouring out of the ground in many street locations, at the local parks, just random locations. Now it is coming into our home because the topology before the tract was installed shows a creekbed where our house was built. Insurance doesn't cover this even if we had flood insurance because it only affects 1 house. The city came out and said it's not their issue even though they permitted the house to be built here. We are looking into help from the State of CA after a State of Emergency was declared but thus far we have gotten no help from them.
We are being helped by so many in the community and we are forever grateful for their kindness and assistance. They have helped us bucket brigade, evacuate, move things to storage, drive our boys to practices and school and countless other things. We are all safe so we are thankful for that.
We are also tired, beat-up and angry as no agency will step up to help. How can someone be allowed to build a house where underground water flows unpredictably? Now it's our problem? To add insult to injury, I'm scheduled to be laid off this summer as my employer, Toyota, leaves California. My rainy day fund was planned for that but now it is being spent to repair my home.
My wife's motto was always "never give up and never surrender" and that's how we are rolling.
Sincerely,
Greg
Give $100 to help get this fundraiser to its goal
Organizer and beneficiary
Bari Fairly
Organizer
Agoura Hills, CA
Jennifer Dato
Beneficiary
