Council Orders DWP to Inspect Old Pipes

Hoping to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 16 water main accident in which a burst pipe sent thousands of gallons of water gushing into an Encino backyard, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday asked the Department of Water and Power to immediately inspect 65 miles of old pipe.

The pipes, about 44 miles of which are located in the Valley, were identified in 1993 and 1996 DWP reports as in need of upgrading within 10 years. Thirty-six miles of pipe are at the highest risk and head the list for replacement or repair.

So far, the water agency has refurbished only one mile, officials said.

The motion passed Tuesday requires the DWP to report back to the council within 30 days with a specific plan for funding a speeded-up replacement of the pipes.

“I don’t think the DWP is anywhere near the 10-year plan that was laid out,” said Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who introduced the motion. “We need to know what their plan for repair is and which pipes are the highest priority.”

DWP officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but last week a spokesman for the agency acknowledged that replacement of the mains, some of which were installed more than 75 years ago, has not gone quickly.

Mitchell Kodama, of the DWP’s general manager’s office, said that the agency had not identified funding to complete the repair work. He said the DWP had focused more on water quality improvement than pipe replacement in recent years.

At 1 a.m. Oct. 16, a 36-inch water main burst outside of Jean Warner’s hillside Encino home spraying thousands of gallons of water into her backyard.

Warner said the 20-foot geyser that resulted from the rupture “was like a typhoon or a hurricane.”

“The truth is, we were very lucky with this breakage in that the property had the ability to absorb the water without too much damage,” Miscikowski said. “My concern is that there may be a whole lot more of these out there.”