Water gushed and swirled beneath a collapsed street in an affluent area of Encino after an underground pipe broke Monday morning, leaving dozens without water service.
Two homes had to be evacuated and about 100 people were affected by the water main break, which was reported at about 9:40 a.m. in the 17900 block of Karen Drive (map), according to Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews were sent to the scene to shut water off to the cast-iron, 16-inch water main, the department stated.
When crews excavated the area around the 66-year-old pipe, they found a damaged sewer line that also had to be repaired. Water service for about 60 affected customers was expected to be restored about 10 p.m., DWP announced in an early evening news release.
After water is restored, street repairs were set to commence, DWP said.
Aerial video from Sky5 showed water gushing into the street from a portion of the road that had buckled and collapsed.
“Water and mud also flowed across homeowners’ lawns and into swimming pools in the immediate area,” DWP said in the news release.
The water flow was “reduced to a trickle” by about 12:15 p.m., Scott stated.
No injuries were reported.
Crews had to work carefully to slowly shut down the pipe because its hillside location contributed to it being under “relatively high pressure,” DWP stated. The slow process was needed to “prevent creating a water hammer that could have led to other pipe breaks in the area.”
We have a 16" water main break in Encino at Zelzah Av & Karen Dr. Karen Dr is closed. Crews are on scene & working to shut off water ASAP.
— LADWP (@LADWP) September 8, 2014
New estimated time of restoration of water service to 60 customers w/o water is 10pm, due to discovery of damaged sewer line.
— LADWP (@LADWP) September 9, 2014
https://twitter.com/LADWP/status/509122405822771201/photo/1
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