A section of Sunset Boulevard remained closed on Sunday because of last week’s destructive water main break, with officials saying they didn’t know when repairs to the 110-year-old pipe would be completed or the street reopened.
“While there is no set completion date yet, our crews remain dedicated to finishing the repairs as quickly and safely as possible,” the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said in a Sunday news release.
Some West Hollywood residents remained displaced Sunday from apartments where underground garages were flooded by Thursday’s water main rupture. And some businesses near the scene remained indefinitely closed.
An aerial view of workers viewing a broken water main at Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive in West Hollywood that sent water gushing down many streets, closing several of them Thursday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Vanessa Lopez, an LADWP spokeswoman, said that two other water pipe ruptures on Saturday — one in Venice and another in Hollywood — had been repaired.
The city received a report of yet another break on an 8-inch water main at 1501 Lincoln Blvd. on Sunday morning, she said, which crews were still working to repair.
Lopez said those breaks were not related to one another or to Thursday’s fracture of the far bigger pipe in West Hollywood, which was constructed in 1916.
Officials said Sunday that Sunset Boulevard remained closed between Sherbourne Drive and San Vicente Boulevard, with limited local access on nearby streets including Cynthia and San Vicente.
City officials urged the public to avoid the area.
LADWP said tap water in West Hollywood remained safe to drink, but officials encouraged residents to conserve.
With the 36-inch water transmission line undergoing repairs, West Hollywood is currently being served by an 8-inch distribution pipe. Residents may notice low water pressure, especially those living in upper-floor apartments, officials said.
Book Soup, a popular bookstore on Sunset Boulevard, was one of the shops and restaurants forced to close after streets were flooded.
“For the safety of staff and the community, we’re keeping the store closed for the time being,” an employee said in a recording on its answering machine Sunday.
“We want to reassure everyone that the store is completely fine and our books are safe and dry,” she added.
Thursday’s fracture was on a steel pipe that forms the major arteries for water delivery from reservoirs and tanks to smaller distribution lines across Los Angeles. That section of the Sunset Trunk Line had been slated for replacement in 2031, according to the utility.
In 2019, LADWP said roughly 29% of the city’s pipes were over 80 years old, nearing their typical 100-year lifespan.
When the trunk line ruptured early Thursday morning, millions of gallons of water gushed down Holloway Drive, inundating businesses and flooding underground parking garages.
Repairs to a water main on Sunset Boulevard Saturday in West Hollywood.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman estimated that between 150 and 200 cars were damaged or destroyed in the flood.
The leak was stopped after a few hours, leaving a giant sinkhole in the middle of Sunset Boulevard.
On Saturday, city crews replaced a 25-foot section of the line. Workers have refilled the pipe with water and are now working to repressurize it, officials said Sunday.
The workers must then disinfect the pipe with chlorine and test the water’s quality for safety. The hole in Sunset Boulevard will then be filled and the street repaired, officials said.
Residents and businesses who lost property and suffered damages can find information about filing claims at www.LADWP.com/Claims.
