Crude Oil Spills Into Reservoir

A landslide caused an oil pipeline to rupture Wednesday, spilling 126,000 gallons of crude oil into Pyramid Lake, a reservoir in northern Los Angeles County that holds drinking water for the metropolitan area.

It was unlikely the drinking supply was contaminated, state water officials said, but a connector that sends water into nearby Castaic Lake to generate power was closed as a precaution.

“There should not be any impact,” said Arthur G. Diefenbach, a senior vice president for Pacific Energy Partners, which owns the pipeline. “The oil will float and we’ll get it off before it has any impact.”

Workers used skimming devices to remove oil from the lake’s surface and planned to haul away the residue in drums. Diefenbach said the procedure would take about 24 hours.

The pipeline, which was built in 1959, carries about 2.5 million gallons of crude a day from the San Joaquin Valley to oil refineries in Los Angeles.

“It’s an important artery bringing crude oil to refineries in Southern California,” said Diefenbach, whose company is based in Long Beach.

Emergency crews for the company responded to the spill within minutes after the 1 p.m. rupture and immediately shut down the pipeline. They were able to contain the slick in a cove on the southeastern edge of the lake, where oil floated on the surface, he said.

It was unknown whether birds or other wildlife were affected, said Dana Michaels, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, which dispatched a biologist and other staff members to the scene.

“It’s obviously a sensitive area,” Diefenbach said. “I would not be surprised if any wildlife was affected. Probably birds are in the biggest danger, but it’s not a particularly dense area for wildlife.”

A landslide triggered by recent rainstorms probably caused the break in the pipeline, which is usually buried 3 feet underground, Diefenbach said.

The rupture occurred about a mile east of the lake, sending oil down a natural culvert in Posey Canyon and under the Golden State Freeway before it flowed into the lake, which is used for boating, fishing and jet-skiing. It was not scheduled to open for the season until May 1.

Crews placed a boom, or a curtain-like device, around the oil to trap it in the cove and prevent it from flowing into the middle of the lake, Diefenbach said.

Times staff writer Amanda Covarrubias contributed to this report.