EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Many Still Lack Water and Gas in Santa Clarita Valley

Residents of the earthquake-ravaged Santa Clarita Valley, anxious to get their utilities restored, their homes repaired and their lives returned to normal, ran into a wall of frustration Thursday.

Thousands learned that they would have to wait several more days--and in some neighborhoods up to two weeks--before water and gas would again flow into their houses.

The news was no better for school officials in Newhall, who estimated that it could cost up to $20 million to repair damaged buildings.

Meanwhile, hundreds of quake victims were turned away at the opening of a joint state-federal disaster aid center because it did not have enough workers to help all of those who sought low-cost loans and other assistance.

More than 500 people had packed the city’s Canyon Country Park for the scheduled 1 p.m. center opening, some arriving as early at 7:30 a.m. But relief workers said they could only accept applications from about 100 people during the center’s first afternoon of business. The center is scheduled to remain open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., including weekends, until the demand subsides, relief officials said. For assistance by phone, call (800) 462-9029.

Elsewhere in the city, utility workers scrambled to restore service to houses that have been without water and natural gas since Monday’s earthquake.

By Thursday, electricity had been restored to all but a handful of homes and businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley, but many residents still lacked natural gas and water service.

Even those whose faucets were running were told to boil the water for at least five minutes before using it for drinking or cooking.

Water officials said boiling should eliminate any bacterial contamination that may have occurred because of broken pipes.

The most outages were reported by customers of the Valencia Water Co., which provides water to Valencia, parts of Saugus and Newhall within the city of Santa Clarita and to Stevenson Ranch, Sunset Pointe and parts of Castaic outside the city.

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As of Thursday, about half of the 15,000 households and businesses served by Valencia Water were still without water, said Greg Milleman, the company’s controller. Service to most residents will be restored in four to six days, but Stevenson Ranch and Sunset Pointe, located west of the Golden State Freeway, may be without water for up to two weeks, he said.

The earthquake caused severe damage to three water tanks and to the pipelines carrying water out of four other tanks. Aftershocks have slowed the repair work, Milleman said. “It’s like taking two steps forward and then one step back” as new damage appears, he said.

For customers who are without service, Valencia Water has placed a trailer containing 6,500 gallons of drinking water in the parking lot at the United Methodist Church in Valencia, across from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. It will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Unless the supply is depleted too quickly, “we’re letting people have as much as they want,” said Milleman. “They just need to bring their own container.”

The Newhall County Water District, which serves 6,400 households and businesses in the Newhall area, reported Thursday that service had been restored to 80% of its users. The remaining customers should have water within a few days, said Jim Jinks, the district’s general manager.

The Santa Clarita Water Co., serving 19,000 households and businesses in Canyon Country, and parts of Saugus and Newhall, expected to have service restored to all customers by late Thursday, said Dennis Rolfe, a staff engineer.

County Waterworks District 36, which serves the Val Verde and Hasley Canyon communities, had restored water to all but six of its 750 customers by Thursday, said Donna Guyovich, a spokeswoman for the district.

The Gas Co. estimated that 60% of its customers in the Santa Clarita Valley still had no service early Thursday. The company dispatched 150 workers to go door-to-door throughout the valley to check for leaks and restore service, said Norm Williams, a spokesman for the utility.

He said most of the outages stemmed from residents who became concerned because of the earthquake and shut off the main valve to their house. In such cases, the company requires that its own workers restart the service after checking for leaks.

Williams said the company believes that virtually all gas service to the Santa Clarita Valley will be restored by this weekend.

Area schools were to remain closed through the end of the week, including those in the William S. Hart Union, Newhall, Saugus Union, Sulphur Springs and Castaic Union districts.

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Several buildings at Placerita Junior High School and William S. Hart High School, both in Newhall, sustained severe structural damage in the earthquake, Walter Swanson, the district’s superintendent, said Thursday. After an initial inspection, Swanson estimated that repairs could cost as much as $20 million.

The ceiling in the auditorium at Hart High School collapsed and the cafeteria floor buckled, he said. Two gyms and a building that houses about 20 classrooms were also damaged.

Commuters also struggled to cope with quake damage. Metrolink has become a major transportation link for residents in north Los Angeles County since the 6.6-magnitude Northridge Quake caused a portion of an Antelope Valley Freeway overpass to crash onto the Golden State Freeway, cutting off direct freeway access from the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys to the San Fernando Valley.

Hundreds of Antelope Valley commuters are expected to take Metrolink when it begins its first-ever service Monday to the region, and more trains are being added in Santa Clarita to meet the increased demand, Metrolink officials said Thursday.

Two trains are expected to make stops in Lancaster and Palmdale each weekday morning and return each evening. The trains will travel from the Antelope Valley to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, with stops in Santa Clarita, Burbank and Glendale.

On Wednesday, Metrolink carried a record 8,000 people to and from Santa Clarita. That record was broken Thursday, according to Metrolink officials, when 8,500 people took the train to and from Santa Clarita.

Each Metrolink car can transport up to 300 people, with seating for 150. The trains serving the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys will each have between five and eight cars.

The 84-mile trip from Lancaster to Union Station is expected to take a little more than two hours on the train. Trains will leave Lancaster at 4:11 a.m. and 4:40 a.m., departing from Palmdale 15 minutes later. The return trains to the Antelope Valley will leave Union Station at 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.