A RESIDENT sued their HOA and claimed they neglected a state-of-the-art system for decades. 

The luxury housing development sits on Lacamas Lake in Camas, Washington but a resident has claimed a neglected biofilter is polluting the water.

The biofilter was considered to be a high-quality system that would absorb phosphates and nitrogen from the development’s stormwater runoff that would go into the lake, which would prevent toxic green algae from blooming.

The lake is covered in algae and resident Steve Bang filed a lawsuit against Lacamas Shores Homeowners’ Association in August 2021 for that, according to The Columbian.

The lawsuit filed in a federal court claimed that the filter was releasing pollutants into the lake, and it was filed under the Citizen’s Clean Water Act. 

This case is still ongoing however a judge at Clark County Superior Court, in July, ruled that the HOA violated its covenants by not maintaining the filter.

Bang, who has lived at his home since 1999, revealed why he sued his HOA.

He said: “It turns out, I’m suing myself as an HOA member.

“(Residents) ask me, ‘Why?’ My answer is, ‘Why are you not?’”

The HOA’s president Don Trost, who took his role in 2021 acknowledged that little had been done to maintain the biofilter but claimed that the situation was not fairly portrayed, according to The Columbian.

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Trost said: “There is an implication that we’ve been irresponsible. 

“I think it’s unfair to the members.”

The HOA claimed that they were not solely responsible for the lake’s bloom following a water test.

They also claimed that they were being proactive about the situation as they hired a water analysis from the Seattle-based environmental consultant Laudau Associates.

Trost said: “We are not ignoring the problem. 

“It just took longer because of the litigation.”

A water test was also conducted by the city’s Camas Public Works which showed the HOA’s area was not the main cause of the problem, according to The Columbian.

The HOAs president told The US Sun: “Their opinion is that the HOA and the 17 other unmeasured sources in their study would contribute, collectively, less than 5 % to the phosphorous loading of the lake.”

The director of Camas Public Works, Steve Wall, said: “Based on all of the data we’ve collected, (the Lacamas Shores area) is a very, very, very small percentage of nutrients.”

Don Trost, told The US Sun that there are motions for summary judgments filed by both sides in the Federal lawsuit, but the court has not ruled on either motion.

Trost added that the HOA asked the court for permission to appeal the state court ruling.