Soaked matresses and drenched cars were part of the clean up Venice residents were undertaking Friday after a 6-inch water main ruptured, flooding side streets and damaging homes.
Venice resident Bob Vanech said the two-foot swell surrounding his home was "overwhelming."
"Just this massive rush of water coming into the street; it looked like there was a sinkhole around it and then there was like a vortex," Vanech said.
Crews were able to shut down the water main, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The break occurred in a water main that was nearly 20 years old.
"The water main was installed in 1993 and just due to the salt water and the corrosive soil, that kind of causes a leak a little bit more than normal," said Greg Williams with DWP.
DWP officials said the area’s old-style drainage makes things challenging when a pipe bursts, and neighbors wondered when the root of the problem would be addressed.
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"For patch-work infrastructure, it’s not really a good long-term solution when you run into things like this," said one resident.
The incident was first reported around 1 p.m. near the intersection of Carroll and Grand canals (map), according to the LAFD. Shortly before 2 p.m., the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was able to stop the water.
"Water levels have begun to decrease," LAFD spokesman Matt Spence wrote at the time.
During the peak of the flood, aerial video showed water gushing down the streets. In some intersections, the water was ankle high.
LADWP officials and maintenance workers have started cleanup efforts. At least 55 firefighters responded to the incident and no injuries were reported.
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