Sunset Closed Until at Least Friday, UCLA Begins Cleanup

UPDATE at 11:32 a.m.: Utility crews struggled today to completely stop the flow of leaking water near a 30-inch riveted-steel pipe that ruptured north of the UCLA campus, sending millions of gallons cascading onto the campus, and Department of Water and Power officials said it could take days to get Sunset Boulevard reopened.

The 93-year-old water main, which carries water to the area from the Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir, ruptured on Sunset near Marymount Place just north of the campus shortly before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, sending a geyser through Sunset and turning streets into rivers and portions of the UCLA campus into oceans of water and mud.

The gusher opened a roughly 20-foot-wide sinkhole in Sunset Boulevard. DWP crews were dispatched to the scene, but due to the flooding and resulting traffic snarls, they didn’t reach the area until nearly 5 p.m., when they began to slowly shut off the 75,000-gallon-per-minute flow of water. That process ended around 8 p.m.

But as of late this morning, DWP officials said they still had not been able to completely stop water from leaking in the breakage area, and thus repair work had not even begun.

The problem involves a Y-shaped juncture of the 30-inch main with a 36- inch main, and at least two valves were still leaking east of the site of the break, Jeff Bray of the DWP said. Repairs cannot be made until the water flow is stopped, Bray said.

By late morning, the utility reported that crews have only been able to get the valves in the area about 95 percent closed, but they “will not turn further.”

“Consequently, the rate of water flowing through the pipe and draining into the work area is still too high to begin (repair) work,” according to the DWP.

Due to the location of the break, the rupture apparently damaged the juncture between the two pipes, meaning a “complex” repair job.

“Given the current status and complexity of the repair, LADWP currently estimates that Sunset (Boulevard) will not reopen today or tomorrow,” according to the utility. “A better estimate will be possible as crews make more progress.”

With Sunset Boulevard closed between Veteran and Hilgard avenues, authorities suggested using Wilshire, Santa Monica and Olympic boulevards as alternate routes, and encouraged motorists to carpool or telecommute.

The UCLA campus was open and classes were being held, Chancellor Gene D. Block said. However, UCLA summer camps and the Fernald and Krieger childcare centers will be closed as will parking structures four and seven, which suffered severe flooding.

No water service was interrupted to customers, and the water is safe to drink, according to the DWP.

UCLA Vice Chancellor Kelly Schmader said 739 vehicles were stuck in the flooded parking structures, and nearly half of them were completely submerged, and the rest suffered varying levels of water damage.

No injuries were reported, but a Los Angeles Fire Department swift-water team helped about five people out of the affected two underground garages, including some people who tried to retrieve their cars. People who have vehicles parked in the structures were encouraged to visit UCLA’s transportation website, transportation.ucla.edu, for status reports and information on how they can recover their vehicles.

Despite fire crews and university workers piling sandbags in front of entrances to UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, its floor and locker rooms “sustained significant flooding,” Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said, adding that officials would reassess the situation this morning.

Schmader said about 8 to 10 inches of water had covered the basketball court, which was being used for volleyball practice when the flooding began.

He said the wooden floor was showing signs of “buckling” and expansion, and the university will have to evaluate whether it can be saved or will need to be replaced. The UCLA men’s basketball team is scheduled to play an exhibition game at Pauley Pavilion on Oct. 31, with the regular season home- opener scheduled for Nov. 14.

Pauley Pavilion recently underwent a $136 million renovation.

Mud and water also covered the university’s Drake Stadium -- a track-and- field facility -- along with the adjacent intramural athletic field.

According to the university, flooding also affected the J.D. Morgan Center, which houses athletic staff and administration offices; the George Kneller Academic Center; the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame; and the John Wooden Center.

According to the mayor’s office, the water line that ruptures dates back to 1921.

Dozens of people gathered on the northern portion of campus Tuesday to get a look at the growing flood, which drenched some walkways and turned stairwells into waterfalls. Some students could be seen with skimboards trying to take advantage of the flowing water.

Officials at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center said hospital operations were not affected by the break.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is in Michigan on vacation, said he was “closely monitoring the situation” and in contact with DWP, police and fire officials, and UCLA, “to make sure we are leading a closely coordinated response.”

--City News Service

Patch file photo.

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