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Water agencies may be required to publicly declare seismic risks
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The rupture in the water main under Sunset Boulevard is visible where the two pipes converge. The break in the system occurred in August, 2014. The other hole in the pipe, at right, is a result of the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power attempting to plug the flow of water. DWP expects to have the road patched by Saturday.
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Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
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Every five years, urban water providers have to tell the state how reliable their water supply is, but a new law, if signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, would require them to include information about vulnerable their systems are in the event of a a big earthquake.
Historically, water agencies serving 3,000 or more customers have not had to report how their pipes, valves, dams and reservoirs would hold up in a big earthquake.
The state legislature has approved a bill by Sen. Bob Hertzberg that would require water providers to give details on what parts of their systems would break down in an earthquake. They'd also have to submit a capital improvement plan to reduce those risks.
Those reports are meant to help identify the water systems that could be in line for $510 million in state grants that voters approved as part of last year's $7.5 million Proposition 1 water bond.
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