Repairs on Sunset Water Pipes Nearly Complete, Others at UCLA Will Take Longer

UPDATED AT 9:36 P.M.: Repairs were nearly complete today on the huge water pipes under Sunset Boulevard, a city official said, but fixing the damage has only begun at the flood-warped Pauley Pavilion floor, and a major event will be moved.

Extra steel plating and concrete thrust blocks have been installed and tested on the 36-inch water mains, said Department of Water and Power spokesman Joseph Ramallo. The pipes endure huge water pressure as they connect Stone Canyon reservoir to the Westside.

By late morning, gravel was being dumped in the hole and DWP posted a photo of a “construction Zamboni” machine that was vibrating away on fill gravel, packing it in.

Ramallo said two “butterfly valves” -- weighing 4,000 pounds each -- were also placed on the nine decade old cast-iron pipeline, which splits into two pipes where it broke Tuesday.

The flood wrecked the brand new wooden floor at Pauley Pavilion, where the Teen Choice Awards had been scheduled at for Aug. 10. They have been relocated to the Shrine Auditorium, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Twenty million gallons gushed into UCLA facilities Tuesday, pouring into Pauley Pavillion, nearby underground parking garages full of cars, a medical clinic and other UCLA buildings. The water then flowed into flood control channels towards Marina Del Rey.

Roughly 900 vehicles were stranded in the garages, most of them dry but about 400 were left in standing water to varying depths. A fleet of tow trucks ferried the cars to another parking lot at the south end of the campus starting Friday.

Water-damaged vehicles were first be inspected by DWP insurance adjusters before leaving the parking structures, a process that contimnued today and may continue several days.

Today, city staffers gathered at a parking lot at Wilshire Boulevard and Veterans Avenue to again fill out paperwork for reimbursement to students and employees whose cars and possessions were flooded.

DWP posted information about its claims process online, at www.lapdnews.com . Claims could also be filed online, or by U.S. Mail.

Today, DWP and three other city bureaus -- Street Services, Engineering and Contract Administration -- were at the Sunset crater today to gently surround the pipes with gravel, before the busy link between Beverly Hills and Brentwood can be repaved.

At UCLA, Athletics Director John Guerrero said new wooden floors would be installed in Pauley and another gym, the John Wooden Center, and both would be ready by early November. The university was still considering options for women’s volleyball matches that will be impacted by the work.

The Bud Knapp Football Complex and Acosta Athletic Complex will be ready for football practice in a few weeks, Guerrero said, and the Drake Stadium track-and-field complex has already been restored to its original condition.

UCLA has begun a “crowdfunding” effort aimed at raising $1 million to help fund repair work needed due to the flooding. As of midday Friday, nearly $8,800 had been contributed.

--City News Service

PHOTO Water damage is visible on floor of Pauley Pavilion. Photo credit: Christelle Nahas/UCLA