Exclusive | Vile mystery liquid turns everything orange in luxe LA neighborhood where homes cost $3M

In the affluent hills of Encino, residents have spent years discussing the notorious Ballina Canyon “River.”But this is no picturesque water feature.Rather, it’s a stream of orange-colored groundwater that has been flowing down their streets for years — staining cars and homes, creating slippery conditions and sparking fears someone will eventually be seriously hurt.“There’s this groundwater that’s seeping up and turning the street this horrible shade of orange,” said Roy Nwaisser, president of the Encino Neighborhood Council.“It’s turning their homes orange.It’s turning their cars orange.

And it’s also a safety hazard because it’s very slick and it’s caused quite a few accidents.”The California Post walked the nearly mile-long stretch most affected by the runoff with resident Andrea Pearlman, who helped form a committee to push for a solution to a problem that has plagued the neighborhood for five years.“We’ve been told it’s magnesium in the water,” Pearlman said.“And sometimes there’s even foam that builds up.There’s been a couple motorcycles or cyclists who have fallen, and most recently there was a lady who actually fell back and hit her head.

So … we want this to be taken care of before someone is seriously injured.”Nwaisser said the safety concerns have become increasingly alarming.“We have a person that lives at the corner of the street where most of the water pools, and he’s had his gate crashed into several times,” he said.“There’s even been a rollover accident.”The neighborhood, where homes average about $3 million, falls within Councilmember Nithya Raman’s district.Residents have been meeting with her office for several years in an effort to get the issue resolved.The city’s Bureau of Engineering has estimated a permanent fix could cost between $5 million and $15 million — but residents say they’ve repeatedly been told there is no funding available.“And, of course, we’re told there...