Water-main fix on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills will take 1 week; expected to cause traffic delays

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- For the next seven days, a stretch of road in Beverly Hills will be a traffic nightmare as crews work to repair a water main leak.

On Monday night, crews worked near the site of the leak, and it's led the city to call on residents and businesses to conserve water.

"We've always talked about water conservation, but particularly now until this water situation stabilizes. We're asking all of our residents to stop irrigating outside water and to be very prudent in the use of water inside," Mayor Julian Gold said.

Some residents said they'll do what they can to help.

"Shorter showers, or be a little more efficient about it and more conscious," Sue Winchester said.

City officials said the leak was discovered Friday near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive. The leak was detected in the Metropolitan Water District's Santa Monica feeder.

MWD managers said the shutdown leaves Beverly Hills without its main source of water for at least a week while emergency repairs are done to the pipeline.

The repairs also mean traffic snarls on Sunset Boulevard, especially during the morning and evening commutes.

"It's already busy, but I guess I'll get a start to my day sooner just to get to work on time," Jeff Engelbrecht said.