Outage Forces Short-Lived Water Curbs

Department of Water and Power officials canceled their call for water conservation that was issued Saturday after an early-morning explosion threatened area water supplies.

An explosion and fire at 4:30 a.m. Saturday at a power station in Mission Hills cut electricity to a major water pumping station and left about 45,000 customers across the northern rim of the Valley without power and water.

DWP officials asked consumers throughout the Valley to cut non-essential water use so the power station, which is undergoing repairs, would not be overtaxed. They suggested residents postpone washing cars and watering lawns. DWP thought the curtailment would be necessary through the weekend, but officials decided the emergency had passed by Saturday evening.

Some Areas Nearly Dry

Water supplies to some portions of the northwest Valley had almost dried up before the Van Norman Pumping Station in Mission Hills resumed operations at 9:30 a.m., said Bob Carr, DWP’s assistant engineer in charge of the water operations division. The pumping station had shut down after a fire, which was triggered by the explosion, damaged two circuit breakers at the power station that supplies its electricity.

“We were actually running out of water in some places in the west end of the Valley,” said Carr.”We had numerous reports of low water pressure.”

Neighborhoods affected by the power outage included Northridge, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, Pacoima and Sylmar. All power was restored by 1:54 p.m. Saturday.

No one was injured in the explosion, which one resident said looked like two large fireballs. Officials have not determined what caused it.