State Urged to Investigate Safety of Garvey Reservoir

Continuing to question the safety of Garvey Reservoir, Monterey Park city officials have urged the state to fully investigate a leak that flooded nearby houses this fall.

The City Council sent letters to Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Montebello) and Sen. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier). In addition, City Manager Mark Lewis wrote Vernon H. Persson, chief of the Division of Safety of Dams in the state Department of Water Resources.

“Repairs without adequate investigation would do nothing to restore public confidence,” the City Council members wrote. Their letter emphasized that the 41-acre reservoir may be in a bad location since it “is surrounded by homes and knowing that a seismic fault runs below it.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which owns and operates Garvey Reservoir, said it is aware of residents’ concerns. But the district argued that the reservoir is close to many customers and that its hilltop location allows the treated water to be delivered by gravity.

Lewis said in an interview: “We’re really requesting that the state have a public review process before giving an OK to refill the reservoir. The whole point is to assure the residents that the reservoir is safe to operate.”

Divers discovered a leak in the bottom of the reservoir Nov. 27, several weeks after residents to the west first complained that their yards and the foundations of their houses had been flooded. Since then, the water district has drained the reservoir and drilled holes to pump water from the earth near more than a dozen houses along Fulton Drive.

The district also has been working to repair the leak in the reservoir, which is an important link in the water supply for consumers in southern and central Los Angeles County. The Division of Safety of Dams is overseeing the repair and inspection process.

Persson said his office “will perform an independent review” of the district’s studies of the reservoir. He said the district must prove that the reservoir has been safely restored.