LADWP crews continue water service repairs in Granada Hills, Porter Ranch after pipe burst

GRANADA HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Sunday marks six days without water for more than 9,200 customers in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch, and crews have even more work on their hands.

Repairs reached a "critical point" Saturday when a pipe blew out, spilling water onto the street. Video obtained by Eyewitness News showed a water line break near the valve crews were trying to repair, which caused flooding through the streets and the backyard of a home.

What's the latest on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power water repairs?

Since Tuesday evening, crews have been working to replace a failed valve that controls the water flow into the affected areas, while also pumping water into the system.

LADWP said crews made major progress late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, saying the broken valve was cut and removed and a new section of pipe that will allow normal water flow to the 10-million-gallon tank serving the area is being welded in place.

Area residents have since been urged to not use tap water until further notice as it will delay repair progress.

"Please do everything that you can to conserve your use of water," said Mayor Karen Bass during a press conference Saturday. "We are very concerned that if people continue to use the water that is coming out of their faucets, it is going to delay the ability of the DWP to get the line back and restored and for your use of water to be back to normal, so you don't have to boil water, so that you don't have to conserve."

What areas are being impacted?

The affected area is bounded roughly by Rinaldi Avenue on the south, Balboa Boulevard on the east, De Soto Avenue on the west and the foothills and hills on the north.

General Manager of the LADWP, Janisse Quiñones, stressed that the repair to the valve is complex and involves working around other critical infrastructure 20 feet underground. Now until Monday morning is the most critical time of the repair, as the temporary water lines are being removed so they can get the main pipe fixed and back working.

Officials said water quality testing to lift the boil water notice will start as soon as pressure is restored in all impacted areas.

What can Granada Hills and Porter Ranch residents do?

Residents in the affected area are being asked to use bottled water for drinking and cooking, keep all indoor and outdoor taps closed, refrain from doing laundry and dishes, and turn off all sprinklers, smart irrigation systems and swimming pool automatic fill systems.

In the meantime, the DWP added two more service sites to help customers affected by the outage, bringing the number of those sites to five. Since Wednesday, they've handed out more than a million bottles of water, and that will continue on Sunday.

Their locations are:

• Holleigh Bernson Memorial Park, 20500 Sesnon Blvd, Porter Ranch (water bottle distribution, recycled water distribution, restrooms, showers, mobile laundry units; open 7 a.m.-9 p.m.)
• O'Melveny Park, 17300 Sesnon Blvd., Granada Hills (water bottle distribution, recycled water distribution, restrooms; open 7 a.m.-9 p.m.)
• Intersection of Tampa Avenue And Sesnon Boulevard on the border of Northridge and Porter Ranch (water bottle distribution and recycled water distribution; open 7 a.m.-9 p.m.)
• YMCA, 11336 Corbin St., Porter Ranch (showers, mobile laundry units; open 5 a.m.-10 p.m.)
• Intersection of Rinaldi and Louise Avenue (showers, mobile laundry units, restrooms; open 5 a.m.-10 p.m.)

A complete list of services available to affected customers is available at ladwpnews.com.

City News Service contributed to this report.