Thousands of gallons of water seep through a Granada Hills street

Thousands of gallons a day are seeping up through a street in Granada Hills, seemingly from nowhere.

According to residents, it seeps night and day, non-stop, and is kind of smelly. The water spreads across Jolette Avenue, making its way to a nearby storm drain.

Susan Winer has lived just up the street for 54 years.

“I don't know how thick the asphalt is,” Winer said. “If there's a sinkhole, who could get hurt?”

Sinkholes can spring up just about anywhere if there's enough rain or a burst pipe. The soil becomes waterlogged, it subsides beneath the pavement, and cars can be swallowed whole.

Winer is so concerned about that happening that she'll drive around this section of pavement, just to be safe.

“Somebody should, at least, talk to the neighbors and explain what is going on.” Winer said. 

The city of LA's public works department says this water is coming from an underground spring of some sort. The department of water and power has tested the water and determined that it's not coming from one of their pipes or from someone's home.

It's basically overflow from groundwater. But the bureau of engineering says there is no immediate danger of this turning into a sinkhole. If there were, they say they would have closed the street.

So for now residents like Winer will just have to wait until the water stops flowing.

The city has dealt with it this way before, more than a decade ago, in exactly the same spot, Winer said. They'll be back soon, just to make sure the street remains safe.

The department of water and power tests the water for additives like chlorine to determine if it’s from one of their pipes. This water has none and is just one of the remaining features of a very rainy spring.