Pipes 10 feet in diameter are set up to carry Colorado River water uphill at the Southern California Metropolitan Water District’s Julian Hinds Pumping Plant so gravity can power the final leg of its journey. The plant is idle for maintenance. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Toby Root, resident inspector for the project, talks about a weather-resistant coating being applied to expansion joints in the plants three hillside pipelines. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Inspectors at the Julian Hinds Pumping Plant check a housing for impellers. Contractors have 19 days to do repairs and upgrades, starting Feb. 28, when the shutdown began and the aqueduct went dry. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
The pumping plant uses impellers to propel the water 441 feet uphill. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Old tools, no longer used, are displayed at the Julian Hinds Pumping Plant. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Gauges on one of the pumping plant’s 12,500-horsepower Westinghouse motors. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
“Before 2000, we didnt have time to deal with maintenance” demand was so great and storage scarce that water had to run through the aqueduct at full bore, the Metropolitan Water District’s general manager says. Above, motors at the pumping plant. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
There is no Colorado River water flowing to the Julian Hinds Pumping Plant during the three weeks of repairs. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
