California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
Residents and businesses in portions of Los Angeles County can resume limited watering outdoors – while keeping conservation in mind – now that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California completed urgent repairs on a major pipeline ahead of schedule.
About 4 million people were called upon to stop outdoor watering for up to 15 days starting Sept. 6, while Metropolitan shut down its 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline, a primary conduit of Colorado River water into Southern California, to repair a leak.
According to the District, crews worked around the clock to make the repairs and fully transition the pipeline back into service, nearly two days ahead of schedule.
After a leak was discovered in the pipeline earlier this year, Metropolitan made a temporary repair and began operating the pipeline at a reduced capacity while a more permanent solution was developed. Once district crews manufactured an expansion joint to replace the leaking pipeline section, Metropolitan scheduled the shutdown to install the longer-term fix and avoid the risk of a critical failure.
“I want to thank the crews who worked tirelessly to complete the project ahead of schedule,” said Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil. “This shutdown also required an extraordinary amount of coordination, and we wouldn’t have been successful without the public’s water-saving help and the cooperation and support of our affected member agencies.”
