Water Shut Off, Repairs to Begin on Sunset Boulevard
LADWP crews needed to close off water flow to the site of the Westwood water main break before repair work could begin
By Jonathan Lloyd and Toni Guinyard ••
Crews are working to replace the failed section of a water main break that flooded part of UCLA Tuesday. Patrick Healy reports from Westwood for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, 2014.
Valves controlling the flow of water to a Westwood water main break were shut off, allowing workers to begin the process of repairing broken pipes and a street near the UCLA campus.
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The valves, which had been leaking, were turned off Wednesday night -- more than 24 hours after a high-velocity stream of water punched through the street, shattering pavement and sending an estimated 20 million gallons of water onto the UCLA campus and surrounding area.
The break occurred at the meeting point under Sunset Boulevard of a 30-inch pipe installed in 1921 and a 36-inch pipe installed in 1956.
Workers were prepared to use a large inflatable plug to stop the water flow, but crews were able to turn off the valves without the plug. Shutting off valves and pipes creates the risk of more ruptures in the 7,200-mile system, especially on hilly areas in and around campus.
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At its peak, about 36,000 gallons of water per minute gushed from the break. The pipe carried 75,000 gallons per minute when it functioned, officials said.
By Wednesday, water was flowing at a rate of about 1,000 gallons per hour from the pipes that are part of a system that connects with Stone Canyon Reservoir near the Sepulveda Pass.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers used welding torches during overnight repair work, cutting through three-eighths inch thick steel pipes.Heavy contruction equipment was used to excavate around the pipe so workers could get a better look at the damage.
"We have two trunk lines involved and where they connected required special fittings," said Jeff Bray, LADWP general superintendent for water distribution. "It isn't where we can just cut out a straight piece of pipe and put in a straight piece, which is a pretty simple repair. This a very complex repair. We're basically having to realign or reroute some of the pipes -- the direction on how they came together before they're going to come together in a different way now."
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A large sinkhole left behind by a water main break Tuesday July 29, 2014 in Westwood.
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Viewer Image: UCLA FLOOD Youth Track camp evacuated
NBC4 LA User Submission Flood Photo taken by Kyle Wilcots UCLA student
NBC4 LA User Submission Flood at UCLA PHOTO taken by Kyle Wilcots UCLA student
NBC4 LA User Submission Steps at UCLA PHOTO taken by Kyle Wilcots UCLA student
The sinkhole left behind after a water main break Tuesday July 29, 2014 in Westwood.
Nicole Wasilewicz
About 8 inches of water flooded famed Pauley Pavilion court on the UCLA campus Tuesday July 29, 2014 after a water main break.
KNBC-TV
Firefighters and others remove standing water from inside a building on the UCLA campus after a water main break.
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A utility worker at the site of a sinkhole caused by a water main break Tuesday July 29, 2014 in Westwood.
Street damage from a water main break Tuesday July 29, 2014 in Westwood.
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A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
NBC4 Chopper
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
Phil Battel
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
artinstituteshop.org
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
MTV
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
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Students trudge through flooding at the UCLA campus after a water main break on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
Gadi Schwartz
The UCLA campus was flooded after a water main break on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
Kenny Holmes
Cars could be seen underwater as a water main break flooded Sunset Boulevard and the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
NBC4 Chopper
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
Kenny Holmes (@kholmeslive via Twitter)
A water main rupture sent water rushing onto Sunset Boulevard, stranding drivers and flooding the UCLA campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
Kenny Holmes
Water rushed into a UCLA parking structure after a water main break flooded the campus on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
AP
Los Angeles firefighters help drivers whose cars became stranded on Sunset Boulevard after a 30-inch water main broke and sent water flooding down Sunset and onto the UCLA campus, background, in the Westwood section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
AP
Workers walk down stairs to a parking structure as water cascades down on them on the UCLA campus after flooding from a broken 30-inch water main under nearby Sunset Boulevard inundated a large area of the campus in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
AP
A worker begins the task of cleaning up at least an inch of water covering the playing floor at Pauley Pavilion, home of UCLA basketball, after a broken 30-inch water main under nearby Sunset Boulevard caused flooding that inundated several areas of the UCLA campus in the Westwood section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
AP
People walk down a stairway leading to a parking structure across from Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus after flooding from a broken 30-inch water main under nearby Sunset Boulevard inundated a large area of the campus in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. The 30-inch, 93-year-old pipe that broke made a raging river of the street and sent millions of gallons of water across the school's athletic facilities, including the famed floor of Pauley Pavilion, the neighboring Wooden Center and the Los Angeles Tennis Center, and a pair of parking structures that took the brunt of the damage.
AP
One woman pulls another on a body board through water on the quad of UCLA after flooding from a broken water main under nearby Sunset Boulevard inundated a large area of the campus in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. The 30-inch, 93-year-old pipe that broke made a raging river of the street and sent millions of gallons (liters) of water across the school's athletic facilities, including the famed floor of Pauley Pavilion, the neighboring Wooden Center and the Los Angeles Tennis Center, and a pair of parking structures that took the brunt of the damage.
Repairing the pipes and sinkhole will require a closure on Sunset Boulevard until at least Friday evening. Drivers traveling in the area should use Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard or Olympic Boulevard to avoid the road closure.
The break caused flooding in UCLA campus buildings, including famed Pauley Pavilion, and parking structures. Blow-drying machines were used Wednesday in Pauley Pavilion, Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center, JD Morgan Center and John Wooden Center.UCLA athletic department officials said the Pauley Pavilion court -- at one point, under about eight inches of water -- will have to be replaced because of buckling and expansion two years after a $136 million renovation.
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About 900 vehicles that remain stranded in the flooded parking structures will likely remain in the parking garages until they can be towed out, possibly on Friday.
Post-doctoral student George Saddik stood Wednesday outside one of the garages where his SUV was parked on the bottom level. Saddik, who had to spend the night at the home of a brother-in-law, said he was less concerned about his vehicle than about how he would commute to his home 50 miles away.
"I have insurance so I'm not sweating it," he said.
Elsewhere on campus, workers shoveled away dirt and mud from buildings. Sand bags, hastily gathered to protect buidings from rising waters, were removed.
But signs of the flood remained -- torn-up strips of soggy carpet were piled outside the J.D. Morgan Center, home of the school's 111 NCAA trophies and a museum to its athletic accomplishments featuring legendary coach John Wooden's den. None of the displays appeared to be damaged, but the floor was bare and was being dried out.
Street sweepers rounded the newly renovated track, removing mud and debris.
No utility customers were without water. No injuries were reported.
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