Water Main Break in Valley Prompts Evacuation

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Originally posted at 11:37 a.m. Sept. 8, 2014. Edited with new details.

A 16-inch water main ruptured in Encino today, causing the evacuation of two homes and digging a big sinkhole in a road and knocking out water service to dozens of nearby residents.

Firefighters were notified of the problem in the 17400 block of Karen Drive at 9:40 a.m., Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Two homes were evacuated, but no one was injured. No immediate damage estimates were available. Nearby yards and a swimming pool were flooded with runoff.

By early afternoon, the water flow to the ruptured section was “reduced to a trickle,” Scott said. About 100 Department of Water and Power customers were without water service, Scott said.

As of 6 p.m., about 60 customers were still without power, and the DWP found that fixing the water main was complicated by the fact that a sewage line was also damaged. The two pipes were expected to be repaired by 10 p.m. and then re-paving will start.

“The 66-year-old water pipe was under relatively high pressure due to its hillside location and crews had to work carefully to shut down the pipe slowly to prevent creating a water hammer that could have led to other pipe breaks in the area,” according to the DWP’s Joseph Ramallo.

Ramallo also said “positive water flow through the pipe also needed to be maintained to protect water quality and avoid having to issue a boiled water notice for the area.”

--City News Service

PHOTOS Courtesy the Los Angeles Fire Department.