4 million LA County residents asked to suspend outdoor watering

More than 4 million residents in Los Angeles County will be asked to suspend outdoor watering for 15 days next month while the Metropolitan Water District repairs a leak in a water pipeline.

The repairs will take place from Sept. 6 to 20, and will impact the cities of Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando and Torrance.

Residents in the Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District will also be impacted.

Officials discovered a leak in the 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline, which delivers water from the Colorado River to Southern California, earlier this year. The pipeline was running at a reduced capacity after a temporary repair while officials designed a more permanent solution.

“We need to make this urgent repair to ensure this infrastructure can continue serving Southern California in the immediate term and for years to come,” said Brent Yamasaki, systems operations manager for the Metropolitan Water District.

“While we do this work, we need people who normally get water from this pipeline to eliminate their outdoor water use to stretch the limited available water supplies. We don’t take this call lightly, but it is what is needed at this time.”

Officials provided tips to residents prior to the shutdown, including delaying new plantings until after Sept. 20, avoiding fertilizing lawns and plants and turning the sprinkler timer off on the evening of Sept. 5.

Residents can view a map of affected areas and more information here: mwdh2o.com/shutdown.

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