After a confrontation with Cal Water, a Prunedale homeowner looks to go home.

At first glance, there’s no sign of the flooding that happened in Lorraine Buonocore’s Prunedale backyard back in March. But a closer look reveals a zig-zag strip of tall green grass amid brown stubble – in the shape of the septic field below, Buonocore’s children say – evidence of the flooding that happened here seven months ago.

Brother and sister Christopher and Linda Ann Buonocore were living here to help care for their 88-year-old wheelchair-bound mother when they began to discover signs of water damage all around. That included waterlogged jade plants on the side of the house, a cracking driveway, and mold growing in Lorraine’s bathroom and master bedroom.

The flooding began when California Water Service conducted routine maintenance in March, draining a 385,000-gallon water tank serving the Oak Hills development off Highway 156. The dark green tank is visible through the trees behind Buonocore’s house, which she and her late husband bought in 1982. Even then, the water company had a pipe running underground next to the home, draining out into the street. The problem developed last spring, when it didn’t drain, and instead sent water into the family’s backyard.

“We had 100-percent saturation,” Linda Ann says. “Gopher holes outside were shooting water straight up into the air. It was like a geyser.”

In the intervening months, San Jose-based California Water Service has sent contractors into the home to inspect the damage, and agreed to do remediation work earlier in October after crews discovered mold. But from there, the conflict took a turn to confrontational, and the Buonocores are now living in the Holiday Inn in Marina. (Lorraine says she misses feeding birds in the backyard the most.)

Cal Water agreed to pay for a hotel for 10 nights, and sent in a crew to do remediation work. They tore out carpets and floors and taped up plastic sheets in doorways while they started cleaning up the place. Mid-way through their job is when Christopher says he realized they weren’t going to fix the full extent of the damage – their plan, he says, was to fumigate the HVAC system, but not to replace compromised subflooring. In a moment of rage, he says he slammed his fist against the door jamb three times – then fainted. The crew has not returned since, and the family is still at the Holiday Inn.

“We have been trying very hard to work with them, and we remain ready to work with them,” says Cal Water spokesperson Yvonne Kingsman. “While part of our job is to protect the health and safety of our customers, we are also going to protect the health and safety of our crews.”