The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) continues to urge customers to refrain from using any tap water flowing into their homes and businesses in Porter Ranch and Granada Hills.
Turn off sprinklers and do not use tap water, LADWP said, including for irrigating lawns and gardens, laundry, dishwashing or flushing toilets. Crews are making significant progress to refill the tank serving the area, repressurize the water system and restore water service.
However, customers are being asked to keep taps closed and continue conserving water to aid in the system recovery. Using tap water during these operations will cause a loss of pressure that can prolong service restoration. A Boil Water Notice issued on Aug. 6 remains in place.
As a result of a broken valve to a large-diameter trunkline that supplies water to the area, customers in those communities lost water service entirely or experienced low water pressure at their homes and businesses. As crews make progress toward restoring water pressure and water quality, LADWP asks customers to refrain from using tap water and instead use bottled water for drinking and cooking uses to allow the pipes and tank serving the neighborhoods to refill.
To support the community, LADWP continues to provide community resources including bottled water, recycled water for outdoor watering and flushing, showers and laundry access.
LADWP crews continue to work 24/7 to pump water back to the water system, release air and pressure from the fire hydrants and excavate more than 20 feet below ground to access a 54-inch diameter line supplying water to the area to repair the broken valve. The location of the valve is close to two oil pipelines, a critical fiber optic line, a gas line and large boulders, complicating repair efforts. The current estimate for repairs could take through this weekend to be completed.
Boil Water Notice
While most customers in the area are without water service, some may be seeing some water flowing at a low pressure. However, LADWP urges affected customers to remember that a Boil Water Notice remains in effect in portions of Porter Ranch and Granada Hills due to the ongoing repair work.
Customers located within the affected area must continue to boil their water before using it to drink, cook, make ice cubes, prepare food such as washing vegetables or to brush teeth until further notice. This is required to ensure safety and public health.
More information regarding this incident can be found at www.ladwp.com/WaterQuality, which includes the Boil Water Notice as well as an interactive map to enter your address if you need to check if the notice applies to you.
Background on Water Loss and Ongoing Repair Work
On Aug. 5, while water system crews were making repairs at a pump station that connects to a 10-million-gallon water tank that serves the area, a valve that controls the flow of water broke during repairs and failed to reopen. As a result, the water flowing into a 54-inch-diameter pipe serving the area was cut off.
This has led to a water service outage in the general area bounded by Rinaldi Avenue to the south, Balboa Blvd to the east, De Soto Ave to the west and the foothills and hills to the north.
Apart from working to access and repair the valve, LADWP crews are also taking multiple approaches to route water back to the trunkline and restore water service to customers sooner as they continue to make permanent repairs. On Aug. 7, LADWP began pumping water from a nearby Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) supply into LADWP’s 54-inch trunkline supplying the area.
Support for Customers
To support customers, LADWP has set up bottled water distribution sites while also providing nondrinking recycled water, portable showers, handwashing stations, mobile laundry units and portable toilets.
The following support is available at the Granada Hills and Porter Ranch locations below:
- Holleigh Bernson Memorial Park, 20500 Sesnon Blvd., Porter Ranch: Water bottle distribution, recycled water distribution, restrooms, showers and mobile laundry units.
- O’Melveny Park, 17300 Sesnon Blvd., Granada Hills: Water bottle distribution, recycled water distribution and restrooms.
- Intersection of Tampa Ave. And Sesnon Blvd. on the border of Northridge and Porter Ranch: Water bottle distribution and recycled water distribution.
Drinking water is available for pickup from 7 a.m. through 9 p.m. and will remain available in the following days until service is restored.
LADWP is working with partner agencies to provide support to vulnerable customers, including seniors and customers with disabilities and functional needs, who are unable to visit the bottled water distribution centers. These customers are encouraged to call LADWP’s call center at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397).
For individuals who are Deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, dial 711 to connect with California Relay, or call 1-800-HEAR-DWP (1-800-432-7397) for TTY.
To access the Boil Water Notice, go to https://www.ladwpnews.com/boil-water-notice-for-portions-of-porter-ranch-and-granada-hills/.