Water gushes down streets in drought-stricken LA

[September 24, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Although the Los Angeles River looks more like a rain-starved trickle these days, parts of this drought-stricken city have been awash in an unusual sight -- torrents of floodwater sweeping cars off streets and barbecues out of backyards.

Not a drop of rain has fallen on Los Angeles since June 5, according to the National Weather Service, but aging water pipes have been blowing up at the rate of more than one a day in recent weeks.

From the city's bohemian, beach-front community of Venice to the pre-World War II cottages that dot foothills surrounding the San Fernando Valley, people are becoming increasingly angry, muddy and wet as they watch millions of gallons of water wash away.

The number of breaks -- 36 during the first three weeks of September -- really isn't an unusual amount for a city the size of Los Angeles, said James McDaniel, senior assistant general manager with the Department of Water and Power. What is unusual, he said, is the severity of the recent breaks, including one that created a sinkhole so big it nearly swallowed a fire truck.

"It's not what causes a break but why did the break break in such a way that it causes this much damage," McDaniel told a City Council panel looking into the matter on Wednesday. He added that his agency has appointed a panel of experts to study the city's geology, its 7,200 miles of pipeline, its pattern of water use and any other potential causes.

In the meantime, residents of still-dry neighborhoods are left to wonder if their street will be the next to spout a geyser the size of Old Faithful, as Studio City recently did. The tide of water it unleashed roared 2 to 3 feet deep through streets, shutting down businesses, flooding homes and garages, and carrying away patio furniture.

"It's not our fault. We didn't know we were living next to such a dangerous situation," said Robert Lee as he stood on the porch of his home on a sunny, 90-degree morning shortly after the deluge and surveyed what was left of his front yard.

He had been standing in the driveway admiring his brother-in-law's new car, Lee said, when they heard a rumble and looked down to see water at their feet.

They were walking toward the source, a small leak in the middle of the street, when the geyser erupted from a 95-year-old trunk line that sent mud, water and rocks raining down. Before workers could stop it, the water flooded the lower half of Lee's split-level home and washed away his entire front yard and driveway.

"We lost the videotapes of all our children's birthday parties," he said, shaking his head. "You can't put a price on that."

Down the block, independent TV producer Tulsy Ball pointed to an empty garage with a water ring nearly 3 feet high.

"That's my production office," he said. Nearby, sat a mud-caked pile of expensive film-editing equipment.

Several theories have been advanced as to what could be causing the problems. Among them is a possible change in water habits since the city began limiting lawn watering to twice a week because of the drought.

"Potentially it could cause a surge in flow," said Richard Little, who heads the University of Southern California's Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. "Couple that together with old brittle pipes and that's not a good recipe."

Or it could just be the old pipes, says City Councilman Dennis Zine, whose district has been the site of several breaks.

The city's water system was put in place by the legendary William Mulholland, the self-taught engineer who built the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the revolutionary, gravity-flow system of pipes and channels that carries water from mountains and valleys more than 200 miles away.

Although the system allowed Los Angeles to grow from a dusty town of 102,000 people in 1900 to a metropolis of nearly 4 million today, some of its pipes are as old as the aqueduct itself, which was completed in 1913.

The DWP began an aggressive pipe-replacement program two years ago, but Zine said agency work crews have told him there are simply more worn-out pipes than they can keep up with.

"This is what happens when you get a system that is old and hasn't been replaced," he said. "Sadly, my prediction is there will be more of these things."

[Associated Press; By JOHN ROGERS]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.