Over 9,200 LA Department of Water and Power customers in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch remained without water service Thursday while the utility scrambled to repair a broken underground valve.
Water service ceased Tuesday after DWP workers were doing repairs at a pump station that connects to a 10 million-gallon water tank serving the area. A valve that controls the flow of water failed to open, and attempts to fix it could last through the weekend, according to the agency.
“As a result, the water flowing from the tank into the pipes serving the area was cut off,” according to a DWP statement.
The affected area is bounded roughly by Rinaldi Avenue on the south, Balboa Boulevard on the east, De Soto Avenue on the west and the foothills and hills to the north, the DWP reported.
The valve repair involves digging about 20 feet underground to reach it. DWP officials initially said the job could take until Friday but later said it could “take through this weekend to be completed.” The utility also reported that the broken valve is near two underground oil pipelines, a fiber optic line, gas line and large boulders, which has “complicated repair efforts.”
DWP officials on Wednesday morning said they were developing a possible temporary solution that entails pumping water from a nearby Metropolitan Water District of Southern California facility into the DWP’s 54-inch trunkline supplying water to the affected area.
The DWP issued a boil-water notice for the area on Wednesday. Residents were told to use only boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking. The notice applies to DWP customers located north of Rinaldi Street or the 118 Freeway, whichever is farther north, and west of Balboa Boulevard.
DWP water-distribution sites provide drinking water to affected residents daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at:
- Holleigh Bernson Memorial Park, 20500 Sesnon Blvd. in Northridge;
- O’Melveny Park, 17300 Sesnon Blvd. in Granada Hills; and
- the intersection of Tampa Avenue and Sesnon Boulevard on the Northridge-Porter Ranch border.
As of Wednesday night, the DWP had distributed 11,200 cases of water at the sites.
Portable showers, handwashing stations, mobile laundry units and portable toilets were all being installed at all of the water-distribution sites, officials said.
Mayor Karen Bass also urged residents to take advantage of available cooling centers with restrooms during the outage. The centers are available at various Recreation and Parks facilities, with a list available at laparks.org/reccenter, and at public libraries, listed at lapl.org/branches.
“We recognize the loss of water to the area is a major inconvenience to our customers and we are doing everything we can to bring back the water to the area as quickly and safely as possible,” DWP officials said in a statement Wednesday night. “We want our customers to know that our crews will work around the clock until repairs are made and we will continue to provide support and information throughout this incident.”
The mayor’s office added that the Los Angeles Fire Department pre-deployed water tenders and engines in the water-less neighborhoods, “with a focus on high-risk fire areas,” and both LAFD crews and LAPD officers were “increasing proactive patrolling of the areas.”
The water service stoppage occurred during a rising heat wave expected to peak Thursday, with many valley areas approaching or reaching triple-digit temperatures.
“While emergency repairs are underway, we are making drinking water, showers and other resources available for Angelenos who may have been impacted by the outage,” Bass said in a statement. “Especially as we face rising temperatures, the LADWP and other city departments are mobilizing resources to ensure that Angelenos stay safe and hydrated.”
The state has provided guidance online about tap water usage.
