Residents Unfazed by Pipe Rupture

By LOUISE ROUG and GREG HERNANDEZ

Dec. 15, 1999 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

As officials raced to repair a ruptured water line that feeds much of South County, residents stopped watering lawns, nurseries stopped irrigating stock and developers curtailed site-preparation work.

Officials probed a variety of possible causes--including a recent earthquake and defective construction--for the massive water main rupture, which they hoped could be repaired as soon as Monday.

But more than 700,000 customers in more than a dozen communities were affected by the shutdown of one of two main water-supply lines to South County. Most residents, though, took the request to conserve water in stride.

“Usually, we use water when we need it, but we’ll take even quicker showers,” said Liz Forrest, 40, of Rancho Santa Margarita, who recalled the drought-inspired conservation efforts of a decade ago. “We were asked [then] not to flush toilets as much. We can do that again. We’ll wash dishes by hand rather than use the dishwasher.”

In Mission Viejo, Nyquita Wilson tried to figure out how she was going to do laundry while home on winter break from classes at Louisiana State University.

“I’m only here for two weeks and I brought a limited amount of clothing,” she said. “I have to have clean clothing.”

For South County development projects, though, the effect was sharper as developers were ordered to halt using water for dust-control, soil-compaction and other construction activities.

Within the Moulton Niguel Water District alone, 117 construction sites were “virtually shut down” in Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Dana Point and Laguna Niguel, said Chuck Roy, superintendent of customer service.

“So far, they have been very cooperative and understand the situation,” Roy said.

Two of South County’s largest development projects, Ladera Ranch and the Talega development in San Clemente, had been using a combined total of 12 million gallons of water per day.

Pat Hayes, general manager of Talega Associates in San Clemente, said crews continued to grade dirt on Tuesday with stored water.

“Our assumption is we will potentially get shut down at some point,” he said.

Work on Ladera Ranch also continued Tuesday. Spokeswoman Diane Gaynor said the company had made arrangements with private water-delivery companies and also could use wells on the site.

No Service Problems Reported Yet

Nurseries have been asked to cut back on water, too.

Bud Bergquist, manager of Green Thumb International nursery in Lake Forest, said the three-acre retail nursery could survive for a while.

“This time of year, it’s cool out, but during the summer, it would have been a real problem,” Bergquist said.

Despite the rupture to such a key line, no service problems--such as reduced pressure--were reported. But that could change drastically if the Metropolitan Water District can’t replace the ruptured pipe before South County reservoirs run dry. Officials planned to canvass reservoir levels today to determine how much supply is on hand.

If repairs are delayed, more drastic emergency steps could be taken.

“Conservation is what’s going to make the difference here,” said Keith G. Coolidge, associate general manager of the Municipal Water District of Orange County, the region’s wholesale water supplier. “As long as we do that, I don’t think anybody will be without.”

Officials urged residents to avoid washing their cars, watering their lawns and filling swimming pools, as well as take shorter showers and wash clothes only with full loads.

“People are taking it very seriously,” said Dave Seymour of the Santa Margarita Water District. “We’ve had people calling to tell us their neighbors are watering the lawns and washing their cars.”

Santa Margarita and the Mission Viejo water districts are most affected by the rupture. They are close to the rupture site and reliant upon the pipeline. New supplies of water were diverted from other South County water districts to make up for the shortfall.

Workers struggled Tuesday to excavate the site of the break, about 25 feet below ground near Portola Parkway northeast of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The rupture occurred where two sections of 20-foot-long pipes came together in a slight bend following the contours of a shallow canyon. With pressure nearing 300 pounds per square inch, the force of the water propelled chunks of the concrete-encased steel pipe to the earth’s surface.

About 5 million gallons of water gushed from the rupture before the pipe was shut off--about the same amount of water that devastated a Westminster neighborhood in September 1998, injuring six people and leading to $10 million in damages and relocation costs for 70 affected families.

The Allen-McColloch Pipeline runs 26 miles from Yorba Linda to the El Toro Reservoir and is the only major pipeline providing water to Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano, the Rancho Santa Margarita and El Toro areas and portions of Lake Forest.

Water still flows to those cities, though, through a vast network of backup water mains connected to neighboring water districts in Irvine, Laguna Beach and San Clemente fed by a second major pipeline.

On Salvia, a quiet and manicured street in Rancho Santa Margarita, residents began adjusting Tuesday to daily life under the voluntary restrictions.

For Nikki Marusic, 19, that meant no washing of cars outside and fast showers inside.

“My brother didn’t even take a shower,” she said, adding that conservation measures just reinforced family habits. “We all just take real quick showers anyway because there’s five people in the house.”

Annette Brennan, who lives around the corner from Marusic, already was prepared for disaster with 200 gallons of water stored in four barrels. While the barrels were filled with an eye toward natural disasters such as earthquakes, Brennan said they were ready for use should they be needed now.

With five children, she said, “you cannot not be prepared.”

Brennan said the family will discontinue watering and will take quicker showers. If the water-flow problem becomes a shortage, she knows some volunteers who would be glad to do their bit.

“My kids would love it if they didn’t have to shower,” she said.

Family ‘Went Into Conservation Mode’

On Mission Viejo’s Bristlecone Street, Bob Acosta said his family “immediately went into conservation mode.” It was an easy transition. On Friday, water pressure dropped for several hours after a smaller water main burst.

“What are you going to do?” Acosta said. “It would be worse in the summer. It will be an inconvenience. We’ll have to deal with it. . . . If everybody pitches in, we can conserve the water.”

His neighbor, Scott Slotkin, said a week without washing the car or watering the lawn would not be hardship.

“As long as it’s not going to take more than a week, we’ll be fine,” said Slotkin, who works from home. “There will be less laundry. The problem will be if in a week they couldn’t put it back together. If they told me they would shut it off, since I’m home all day, that would be annoying.”

Times staff writers Karen Alexander, Jack Leonard and Scott Martelle and Times wire services contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Mainline Maulfunction

The rupture Monday of one of two mammoth water pipelines that deliver water to south Orange County led to voluntary water-use restrictions for 700,000 residents. Work crews are expected to replace the damaged pipe segments by next Monday.

About half of the quantity the broken pipeline delivered is being rerouted to south county’s other water main: East Orange County feeder.

The extra water is being transferred to needy communities through a vast network of water lines linked to neighboring cities.

The Allen-McColloch Pipeline, a primary supply for South County, delivered about 75 million gallons of water a day before the rupture.

IMPACT ON WATER DISTRICTS

MOST AFFECTED

El Toro

Los Alisos

Moulton Niguel

Capistrano Valley

Santa Margarita

AFFECTED

Irvine Ranch