If you hire Columbia Water Gardens, BE CAREFUL of Carl, the owner is a cheater and a crook. I hired…read morehim to build a pond for my turtles which cost close to 10k. It was beautiful. It not only gave my turtles a home but the pond was a method to deal with my PTSD. It calmed me. The problems with the pond came about 2 years ago when my neighbors behind me initially thought it was leaking. It was not leaking but code enforcement educated me that the pond was built too close to the fenceline. It was built 3 1/2ft vice the 5ft it should have been. Carl instead dodged that detail. I have records, texts, emails to confirm the following:
Spoke to Carl in early 2025 when code enforcement sent me a letter. At first he was very attentive. Very short lived. He came to my home twice, maybe. Once in 2025 to check for the leak, and the second in 2026 after threatening legal action to correct his mistake.. He finally came to my home in 2026 AFTER I threatened legal action and complaint to CA. When the crew showed up for work, they were told by Carl it was a HOA complaint. Sorry Carl, you were caught cheating me of money and gave me an overpriced product. He appeared eager to fix his mistakes and promised he would return in July 2025. One year later. When the cide enforcement graciously extended the time for repairs. Filling the pond to avoid city violation was a last resort. Once work finally began. Carl made promises to stop and check the work. Cancelled each time. He had a habit of blaming his crew and his family, deflecting from accountability. Adding insult to injury he preached the bible to mansplain. He used his son to gain sympathy to divert accountability. I am a 100% disabled veteran with PTSD and I smelled the dookie. Carl had his crew no show once, and cancelled 22min before showtime, once. I found the pond was not built as the plans stated when it was drained and dismantled. I was charged as if it was. When the pond was being built to the signed AND paid contract specks. Carl yelled at his crew. Almost all communication with Carl was by text and email. I'm glad I did because he eventually ghosted me and it was his foreman Octavio who fought Carl's battles.
We negotiated and agreed to a breach of contract settlement. When I called him to talk about what he sent me he said "abadah abadah" it was AI. He said he used AI. He then "abadhad" he was upside down and told me a current client in Fallbrook was giving him a headache. Mind you, this man drove to my home in a 80K+ truck and something was killed to be his boots. Sir, please don't tell me you're barely making ends meet. You have just returned from your 3rd vacation this year. I am a single mom, a disabled veteran, and I guarantee he is cheating other people, other veterans, and using his son to gain sympathy to escape culpability.
He gave me a deadline pushing to pay me the same day he sent the agreement by email. I rewrote it and returned it to him. It was still a mutual agreement with zero need for lawyers. Maybe I was wrong? Guess what, he "abadad" again and said his counselors are reviewing it and he's waiting for their call. He will call tomorrow. He ghosted me but I know he read the texts.
THE TRUE REVIEW: The foreman, Mr. Octavio and his crew worked very hard, with integrity, and never hesitated to answer any questions I had. In fact Octavio gave me a friendly push for questions. He is a genuine and VERY capable foreman, and the main liaison to explain major details, maintenance, and most likely puts out fires Carl starts. I would not be surprised if Carl is still open because of Octavio, and his crew. If you hire the company you will see the difference between fake Carl and Octavio, a decent human being with moral integrity and an excellent work ethic. Unfortunately, one of my turtles, Michelangelo, passed away from natural causes. He swam in his beautiful new home one last time. I admit I cried like a baby. Octavio suggested we bury Michaelagelo close to the pond. I'm calling it Mikey's Pond. Thank you Octavio and FUCK YOU CARL.
