Tag: water main break
Sunset Boulevard Reopens After Massive Water-Main Break

Sunset Boulevard Reopens After Massive Water-Main Break

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Sunset Boulevard reopened early Monday morning when crews finished repaving the thoroughfare after a water-main break created a massive sinkhole and flooded structures at the adjacent UCLA campus, the mayor’s office said.

Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office confirmed Sunset had reopened in time for Monday’s rush hour, but noted that drivers will be required to travel at reduced speeds on the affected part of the street.
The break, which occurred at the juncture of two trunk lines running underneath Sunset, spilled 20 million gallons of water.

The surging stream, which shot upward for hours, created a 25-by-30-foot oval sinkhole about seven feet deep, said Joe Ramallo, spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Repairing the water main required more excavation. DWP crews used about 400 tons of sand and 540 tons of crushed aggregate to fill the hole.

Work crews also have been busy at UCLA, which sustained widespread damage. The water stranded about 960 cars in two parking structures and flooded the floor of Pauley Pavilion, the school’s storied basketball arena.

According to a statement from the mayor’s office, the arena will be ready for the UCLA men’s and women’s basketball seasons.

The lower garage levels were submerged to the ceiling in water. No one was injured because the garages filled up gradually, and a water-rescue team was quickly on the scene, helping several people to safety, said UCLA spokesman Tod M. Tamberg.

But 400 were on floors that flooded. Owners can inspect and possibly retrieve them Tuesday.

Even among these, said Tamberg, “there could be cars with water that went halfway up the wheel. The owners may be able to drive those off, and if they do that will be terrific. For others, it will be a tough day emotionally to see their car ruined.”

Water was not fully pumped out till late Friday night, and then crews had to deal with mud and debris.

The cause of the break is under investigation. The L.A. water system has many old underground lines that have been deteriorating.

“At this point, corrosion is suspected,” Ramallo, the DWP spokesman, said.

The utility endured heavy criticism from residents and city officials for the length of time needed to shut off the water. The incident began about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and containing the main flow took about 5.5 hours, according to the utility.

After the main leak was stopped, shutting off more than 90 percent of the flow, about 1,000 gallons per minute poured out for a day. Some, if not most, of that discharge was unavoidable, Ramallo said.

“One of the things that can happen when we shut down pipes too fast is that it can damage other pipes,” he said.

The shutdown involved the coordinated control first of three valves, then of nine valves in the area.

“We also had to maintain positive flow and pressure through the pipes to maintain water quality,” Ramallo said. Otherwise, some residents would have had to boil water to make sure it was safe.
Turning the tap on again also has risks because fluctuation in pressure in the surrounding area could cause further leaks and breaks.

“The complexity of this job cannot be overstated,” Ramallo said.

Photo: Los Angeles Times/MCT/Jabin Botsford

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Massive Water Main Break Floods Area Near UCLA

Massive Water Main Break Floods Area Near UCLA

By Robert J. Lopez, Caitlin Owens, and James Queally, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — A massive water line break sent a geyser shooting 20 to 30 feet into the air and flooded part of busy Sunset Boulevard and the University of California, Los Angeles, campus.

The water had been raging for nearly two hours when Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said at 5:15 p.m. PDT that it would take crews at least another hour to shut down the line.

Thousands of gallons of water trapped at least three people in cars, flooded underground parking lots on the UCLA campus, and sent a dramatic cascade pouring down the stairs into Pauley Pavilion, according to officials and television news footage.

The water was also flooding campus athletic fields, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Water was seen inside the J.D. Morgan Center, which houses athletic staff and administration offices, the George Kneller Academic Center, and UCLA’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and water has also been spotted inside the John Wooden Center.

The water flooded Pauley Pavilion, which underwent a $136 million renovation in 2012. Water covered the entire floor in the arena. There were also reports that the water got into the high-end club, which is on the first floor.

Tractors on campus were dropping dirt to create embankments to try to channel torrents of water away from buildings.

In messages on Twitter, Garcetti said the pipe involved is from 1921. The pipe is being “shut down now, but will take an hour to prevent shock to the system and further damage.”

The water main ruptured shortly before 3:30 p.m. in the 10600 block of Sunset Boulevard, fire officials said.

Sunset was closed in both directions from Marymount Place to Westwood Plaza, complicating the rush-hour commute for scores of drivers.

“This is the same thing you would have in any flash flood,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jaime Moore said.

He said that “thousands and thousands of gallons” of water had flooded the area from a 15-foot-wide hole on Sunset just a few yards from the UCLA campus.

People were evacuated from Parking Lots 4 and 7, Moore said.

An LAFD swift-water rescue team with four inflatable boats was at the scene, standing by in case people were stranded.

Students took off their shoes and waded across rivers of ankle-deep water on campus. Other people were showing up with boogie boards — a move discouraged by firefighters.

“That is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do,” Moore said. “For somebody to try and boogie board in this, it’s just going to be an asphalt bath.”

Water was as high as wheel wells shortly after the flooding began. Firefighters assisted at least three motorists.

Photo: Los Angeles Times/MCT/Jabin Botsford

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