The Region - News from Oct. 9, 1985

It will take workers two weeks to repair a historic concrete spillway linking the first Los Angeles Aqueduct, Department of Water and Power officials said. Parts of the base of the 150-foot-wide Cascades spillway in the northern San Fernando Valley, christened in 1913 by former chief city engineer William Mulholland, apparently fell apart under heavy water flow Friday evening, DWP spokesman Mitchell M. Kodama said. The damaged channel is one of two aqueducts that normally supply 80% of the city’s water, Kodama said. Laurent McReynolds, DWP assistant chief engineer, said the collapse will not result in water shortages. Kodama said the structural failure was discovered Saturday afternoon when water fouled by the accident triggered an alarm at the San Fernando reservoir. The walls of the spillway did not break, and no spillage was reported, he said. If necessary, the DWP will draw additional water from Metropolitan Water District reservoirs.