Watering Ban Lifted Early As Crews Finish Repairing Pipeline
By
Tyler Wayne
Published Sep 19, 2022 2:02 PM
The Upper Feeder pipeline.
(Courtesy Metropolitan Water District)
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An outdoor watering ban that impacted some 4 million customers across Los Angeles County has been lifted early.
The ban, which began on Sept. 6, was expected to last until Tuesday. However, crews working to repair a leak in the Upper Feeder pipeline, which delivers water from the Colorado River to Southern California, finished early.
Residents of Long Beach, Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, Inglewood, Downey, Beverly Hills and more were under the restrictions for 14 days.
Some 4 million customers were under the outdoor water ban
Keith Nobriga, the manager of Water Operation and Planning at the Metropolitan Water District, said that the ban was successful in reducing water demand by nearly 30% in the past two weeks.
“That's roughly 300 acre feet a day,” he said. “Across the whole shut down … it's over a billion gallons saved."
The leak on the 36-mile pipeline — which delivers Colorado River water to the L.A. area — was discovered earlier this year. A temporary fix kept the pipeline going for a time but the shutdown was needed in order to put a more permanent solution in place.
Households who were under the ban may now return to outdoor watering, with conservation in mind as always.
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