There are 125 tons of concrete pipe waiting to be installed at the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park in Capitola. The park is evacuated and 26 full time mobile home residents are staying in motels.
"I think right now a lot of people are dealing with stress, they very much want back into their homes and we're being told to hold off it may be a little bit longer," mobile home owner Ann Schroedel said.
The city had high hopes of making repairs quickly, but the river had to be diverted and the ground where the 100 feet of pipe belongs, is still saturated.
"We're still seeing a lot of water down there and the engineers want to get a good handle on the sub straight before we start laying in these pipe sections behind us," city spokesperson Derek Johnson said.
The concrete will replace the steel system that collapsed on March 24. The break sent a torrent of water into lower Capitola not once, but twice. Merchants in the village are still cleaning up and many are anxious to reopen.
"I'm hoping for tomorrow we won't have the carpet in but it will be workable and our other shop across the street will be fine too," village merchant Amy Tognazzini said.
Engineers will present a report on April 28 that will determine if the city-owned Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park even has a future. Residents are aware the park may have to move or be closed entirely.
"Everybody has different feelings with it, some people are easy going with it, others are upset or angry," mobile home owner Pam Bone said.
The mobile home residents say they are grateful for community support and merchants hope now that the sun has returned, so will the tourists.
"They say you will never recoup what you've lost but we're hoping too," merchant Florence Fobelli said.
