A water main burst on July 29th has released massive amount of water all over the Sunset Boulevard in California. Thanks to the busted water main a hole 10ft wide was made in the middle of the street. Along with the initial damage from the pipe breaking there was plenty of flooding as millions of gallons of water flew out of the pipe.
The main was 30in thick and had been in service since 1921. Located in the Westwood neighborhood the pipe carried water to Los Angeles from reservoirs in the San Fernando Valley. Before the pressure could be lowered a geyser of water reached 30ft into the air.
It took utility workers three hours to shut off the flow of water. In that time between 8-10 million gallons of water had been released into the local area. Pouring into local roads and underground car lots, three motorists had to be rescued from flooded cars.
Not only were the streets full of water but UCLA also suffered water damage to six of its buildings said UCLA facilities vice-chancellor Kelly Schmader. Not missing an opportunity to goof around some local college students went out into the flooded streets with boogie boards and inflatable rafts.
Police strongly discouraged people against trying to surf or boogie board over the streets. "For somebody to try and boogie board in this, it's just going to be an asphalt bath," said Fire Department Captain Jamie Moore
Utility workers had to work carefully as the aging system would have suffered further problems if the water had not been distributed properly among the other pipes. Jim McDaniel, a DWP senior assistant general manager, described that if they did not shut off the proper valve they might have accidently shut off the water for some people.
Having broken once people fear that the aging system may break again. City official have said the flooding can be managed, but if this happens again they could be forced to fix the whole system.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
