More questions flow after more LA water pipes burst

Los Angeles utility officials have investigated one water main break after another in the last couple of weeks. KPCC’s Shirley Jahad says that as more water escapes from underground pipes, more people wonder what’s going on.

Shirley Jahad: At the curb in front of his house, Aref Khazei shakes his head. Water from a broken pipe rushes down the street.

Recent Los Angeles Water Main Breaks

View Los Angeles Water Main Breaks in a larger map Jahad: We’re on Burbank Blvd. a block from Woodland Hills Academy looking at the street that is buckling in a lot of places.
Aref Khazei: Yes. It’s buckling, it’s sinking in some places. It’s been raised in places. I think this whole street needs to be redone. It’s raised in some places six inches.
Jahad: It’s like an extra curb here.
Khazei: And this is all new. This was not here.
Jahad: None of this was here before.
Khazei: No. A car can get in there. Drop in there. It’s scary. Means this whole area could collapse.
Jahad: And you said this is the second time in a month.
Khazei: Less than a month.

Jahad: The previous water main break happened just a couple of blocks away. The waste bothers Khazei more than the mess.

Khazei: Breaks your heart. You try to save a little bit of water here and there and then you see water running for a couple of hours. Like a river flowing in the street.

Jahad: The question is whether a succession of crumbling pipes under Los Angeles is a coincidence, or something worse.

Richard Little: Whether we’re approaching the edge of a cliff or a more gentle down slope, it’s hard to say at this point.

Jahad: Richard Little heads USC’s Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. He studies the consequences of delayed repairs on water systems like the one in L.A.

Little: I think the danger is it just degrades very slowly and when we finally decide it has gotten really, really bad, the cost is ultimately going to be more than if we did it on a regular basis.
Jahad: So, regular maintenance is a big part of the answer here.
Little: Well, it works for people and it works for cars. It works for water systems too.

Jahad: Regular maintenance costs money. L.A.’s Department of Water and Power has tried to generate almost one-and-a-half billion dollars for upgrades through a rate hike. So far, that hasn’t passed muster with the L.A. City Council. Several members say that first, they want the utility to supply more information about its program to replace much of the 7,000 miles of pipe that run under L.A.