Around 9,200 households in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch were without water on Wednesday after the Power department of the Los Angeles water announced that emergency repairs were underway at a pumping station.
The problem arose on Tuesday afternoon. DWP said that while the teams were making repairs at a pump station that connects to a tank of 10 million gallons, a valve that controlled the water flow did not open.
“As a result, the water flowing from the tank to the pipes that serve the area was cut,” DWP said in a written statement. “The teams are on the site and are working in the fastest and most safe way to perform repairs in the valve.”
The agency said it is coordinating with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to replenish the tank and has requested the support of a company that provides high capacity bombs.
On Tuesday night, DWP announced the problem and said that customers must urgently keep water, but that the high demand for water along with the restricted water flow left the exhausted tank at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.
DWP said the area affected in the San Fernando Valley extends between Rinaldi Street in the South, Balboa Boulevard to the East and Soto Avenue in the West.
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, said that while the repairs are underway, “we are making drinking water, showers and other resources available for angels that may have been affected by the interruption.”
“Especially as we face increasing temperatures, the LADWP departments and others of the city departments are mobilizing resources to ensure that Angelenos remains safe and hydrated,” Bass said in a written statement.
DWP said he was providing bottled water to customers in three locations in the area of Granada Hills and Porter Ranch from 10 am to 7 pm:
- Holleight Bernson Memorial Park, 20500 Sesnon Blvd., Northridge
- O'Melveny Park, 17300 Sesnon Blvd., Granada Hills
- The intersection of Tampa Ave. and Sesnon Blvd. on the Northridge and Porter Ranch border
The department said that customer safety and community is “our main priority while we work quickly to make repairs and replenish water.”
The city has cooling centers with bathrooms available in Recreation and parks facilities as well as local libraries.
City officials said the Los Angeles Fire Department deployed oil and water crews in the area, and that the emergency operations center was activated as officials monitor the situation.
The city said that residents and companies that depend on water for medical needs, such as dialysis clinics and the centers for the elderly, were being contacted to ensure that there are plans to deal with the situation, and that the Department of Transportation and Aging of it was coordinating transportation for elderly residents to bottled water distribution sites.
The teams have started digging to access the 20 -foot valve underground, said DWP, and repairs are expected to be completed on Friday.
Abbey Ronquillo, president of the Granada Hills South neighborhood council, said she learned about the interruption of pending water in an email on Tuesday night from DWP, but she would have liked to see an earlier and more specific communication of the agency through text messages and email to customers in the area.
“I don't think we were well informed,” said Ronquillo. “It is unfortunate that there is not enough warning for our community.”
“I would have wanted DWP to have given a previous message to the community, where he really did not have to dig deeply to find this information,” said Ronquillo, “because many houses will be negatively affected by not having water, of course, especially in the summer months.”
