Part of a pipeline that was repaired in September 2022 is pictured.
Millions in Southern California can resume outdoor watering Monday after repairs on a pipeline connecting the Colorado River to customers in Los Angeles County were completed ahead of schedule.
The completion of repairs on a leaking portion of the 36-mile pipeline means 4 million people who were asked to avoid outdoor watering for about two weeks can now resume, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said Monday.
Repair work started Sept. 6.
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Metropolitan Water District officials say it is estimated customers in the affected areas reduced water demands by about 30 percent during the repairs.
"We know it wasn't easy to heed our no-outdoor-watering call, particularly during the extreme heat wave the region experienced early in the shutdown, but Southern Californians stepped up their water-saving efforts again, as they have in the past, to help us through this critical shutdown," Metropolitan Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray said in a statement.
Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando, and Torrance, and the Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District were affected by the leak.
The MWD made a temporary repair to the leak in the pipeline earlier this year, and began operating the pipeline at a reduced capacity. The MWD scheduled the shutdown to install a longer-term fix to the pipeline to avoid a possible critical failure to the water supply.
Hagekhalil added that customers should still continue conserving water because of the region's historic drought.
