Aqueduct Repaired Ahead of Schedule

Flash-flood damage to an aqueduct that supplies Los Angeles with 75% of its water was repaired ahead of schedule and water has resumed flowing, officials said Monday.

Water began moving through the Los Angeles Aqueduct about 8 p.m. Saturday, following extensive repair work, said Mindy Berman, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Crews of 30 workers laboring around the clock completed the repairs Saturday, about three days ahead of schedule, she said.

The amount of water flowing through the damaged area will increase over several days to its previous rate of about 600 cubic feet per second, said aqueduct engineer Dennis Williams.

“It will take several days for it to get back up to speed,” he said.

Repairs took 12 days and costs are expected to total about $800,000, Williams said.

“They replaced about 800 linear feet of concrete panels on the sides of the aqueduct. That’s pretty fast work,” said Jay Malinowski, a spokesman with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “They must have really hustled to get it done because it was really a mess.”

An Aug. 8 flash flood on Olancha Creek dumped tons of debris into a two-mile-long stretch of the aqueduct 180 miles north of Los Angeles. Another storm Aug. 10 soaked the ground enough to buckle parts of the concrete lining in an 800-foot stretch of the aqueduct.