15-day outdoor watering shutdown begins for more than 4 million Los Angeles County residents
More than 4 million Los Angeles County residents will be forced to go without outdoor watering for more than two weeks starting Tuesday, as Metropolitan Water District crews work to repair a leaking pipeline.
The fixes are expected to take up to 15 days, after a major delivery Upper Feeder pipeline that brings water to Southern California from the Colorado River was found to have a large leak. After a temporary fix earlier this year, MWD officials are set to repair the pipeline in its entirety.
Residents living in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando and Torrance will be directly impacted, as well as those living in areas like the Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District. They have been asked to completely cut off all outdoor watering, even hand watering and drip irrigation.
"We can't let this pipe continue to have this temporary patch," said Brent Yamasaki, Chief of Operations with MWD. "We're really concerned about the reliability, we've been able to make it through this time. But, we want to do this in a very organized and planned fashion."
Since the pipeline has been operating in a limited capacity after the temporary repair, officials decided that they would take the soonest opportunity to permanently install a new piece that would return it to its regular flow.
"The temporary fix we have in place has allowed us to operate the pipeline at a reduced capacity over the summer, but it is not intended to last long-term," said MWD General Manager Adel Hagekhalil at a news conference last week. "We cannot delay this repair any further -- doing so risks a failure and the potential for an unplanned, emergency situation."
Officials advised residents in the impacted areas to pre-water trees and gardens, and collect shower or bath water for outdoor watering over the next two weeks.
During the 15-day period, officials are switching the affected areas to another supply source for indoor water usages, though they state that the amount is limited.
"During this shutdown, we'll be tapping into a very limited supply of water to deliver to these communities," MWD board Chairwoman Gloria Gray said. "So we must eliminate all outdoor water use and do everything else we can to conserve for 15 days. We want to thank residents and businesses in advance for their support and recognizing the water-supply challenges our region faces."
