Community Corner

Water Main Rupture Causes Street Flooding

There are at least six breaks reported in the Fairfax District, West Hollywood and Hollywood areas.

A half-dozen Los Angeles Department of Water and Power water mains failed Tuesday in or near the Fairfax district, flooding streets and buckling pavement but all were repaired by 5:30 p.m.

DWP officials took the Lower Franklin Reservoir in the Hollywood Hills offline Monday and switched to an alternate water source, and pressure changes inside water mains caused breaks in six downslope lines.

At one point overnight, water was overflowing the curb and rushing down streets around Third Street and and Fairfax Avenue, home to the Farmers' Market, The Grove shopping center and CBS Television City.

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Several streets were closed for pavement repair early Tuesday, with Third Street between Ogden Drive and Fairfax Avenue remaining closed until about 6:30 p.m.     

The DWP said the breaks occurred in:

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-- an 8-inch main at the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Third Street, which was installed in 1949;

-- a 6-inch main in the 5800 block of La Mirada Avenue, installed in 1925;

-- an 8-inch main in the 900 block of Croft Avenue, installed in 1969;

-- an 8-inch main in the 6000 block of Waring Avenue installed in 1930;

-- a 4-inch main in the 100 block of  North McCadden Place, installed in 1927; and

-- an 8-inch main in the 300 block of North Vista Street, installed in 1962.

On Monday, a DWP crew removed the cover on Lower Franklin Reservoir to inspect it — the reservoir was uncovered in the 1960s and was the setting for the opening of The Andy Griffith Show — and shifted the water supply in a number of trunk lines to another source, and that triggered the ruptures.

DWP chief Ron Nichols said the breaks were not surprising, given that the agency logs an average of 3.5 breaks daily.

"Any utility that's been around 100 years is dealing with some of these types of problems," Nichols said.

Cast-iron water pipes last about 100 years, Nichols said.

"We're replacing pipe right now," Nichols said. "At the budget level that we're budgeting at, we're replacing it at about every 320 years. That's not something that we can continue to sustain."

Nichols presented a request at Tuesday's Board of Water and Power Commissioners meeting for a water rate increase that comes to 4.9 percent over two years. The increase would average $2.53 extra per month for typical residential customers and help pay for replacing older lines. If approved, the hike would take effect in July 2013.

The department replaces about 95,000 feet of water pipes per year. The water-rate increase would enable the DWP to replace about 150,000 feet of pipe per year, Nichols said.

"The bottom line is we have to continue to ramp up our funding for replacing these pipes," Nichols said.

According to the LADWP, there were water main leaks at six locations, and each affected about 20 customers:

The water main rupture at Fairfax Avenue and West Third Street was reported at 2:38 a.m.

The first break apparently occurred under La Mirada Avenue about 1:30 a.m., according to a fire captain. The water flow at Fairfax and Third was reported at 2:38 a.m., on Croft Avenue at 5 a.m. and on Vista Street about 5:30 a.m.

At its peak, the series of leaks affected about 130 customers. Service has been restored to all about 20 on La Mirada Avenue early Tuesday night, according to Joseph Ramallo of the Department of Water and Power.

At least one parked vehicle was damaged.

— City News Service


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