Repairs to Aqueduct Hastened : Break in Weather Enables Workers to Fix Storm Damage

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials expressed optimism that a break in the weather Saturday will allow workers to promptly finish massive repairs to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, a portion of which was damaged by thunderstorms and flash floods that pounded California desert communities last week.

More than 50 bulldozer and other heavy-equipment operators were working around the clock in 12-hour shifts to clear two miles of the aqueduct that was buried in flood debris from a storm that struck the Owens Valley on Tuesday, DWP spokesman Ed Freudenburg said Saturday.

Another storm Thursday buckled the concrete lining of a 1,000-foot stretch of the aqueduct, which provides about 75% of Los Angeles’ water. The portion of the aqueduct damaged by the flooding is located about 180 miles north of Los Angeles, along U.S. 395 near the town of Olancha.

The clearing of debris and the concrete repairs on the 31-foot-wide aqueduct will be completed in two weeks, provided that no more heavy thunderstorms hit the damage area, Freudenburg said. Cost of the repairs is estimated at about $500,000.

“We don’t anticipate any further meteorological problems for now,” Freudenburg said.

A spokesman for WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times, said dissipation of thunderstorm conditions probably will continue through the week.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Water District officials joined the DWP in urging residents to adopt voluntary water-conservation measures that the utilities have promoted for the last three years.

‘Do It Efficiently’

“No one should be using water inefficiently,” said MWD spokesman Jay Malinowski. “But if you’ve got tomatoes, water them; if you’ve got a car, wash it. Just do it efficiently.”

Some of the water-saving measures suggested by the two agencies include watering plants only when the soil is dry, using a broom rather than a hose to clean driveways and patios and shutting off the faucet while you brush your teeth.

Malinowski said that the temporary closing of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, one of three major aqueducts that provide water to Southern California, will not have a significant effect on water supplies. The MWD, which provides water to communities from Oxnard to the Mexican border, will make up the water loss by increasing the amount it sells to Los Angeles.

“In terms of magnitude, it’s not that serious a problem,” Malinowski said. “It’s an inconvenience and an expense to DWP customers but it is by no means an emergency.”

Malinowski said there is enough water stored in reservoirs to keep Southern California residents supplied for six months, even if all major sources of water were cut off, such as after a large earthquake.

Residents of Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino and Riverside counties took the brunt of the larger-than-usual summer thunderstorms that passed through California last week.

Across the state line in Yuma, Ariz., more than five inches of rain fell Wednesday, destroying homes and causing flooding two feet deep in city streets. Storms in Las Vegas caused an estimated $14 million in damage.