Broken Sunset Boulevard water pipe was badly worn, DWP tells council

[alp227]

Source: LA Times

One of the two water lines that burst under Sunset Boulevard last week was so badly worn that "with a little effort, we could almost scrape the corrosion away and kind of rub a hole through the pipe," a top Los Angeles Department of Water and Power executive said Wednesday.

Senior Assistant General Manager James B. McDaniel told a committee of Los Angeles City Council members that the other trunk line involved had five leaks before the rupture. Neither line was scheduled for replacement, despite getting less-than-stellar grades of "C" and "D" from the utility, according to DWP officials.

McDaniel and other managers of the city-owned utility were called before the committee to explain what went wrong when broken pipes deluged part of the UCLA campus with about 20 million gallons of water — and what it would take to start mending its woebegone waterworks. Replacing all of its aging pipes could cost billions of dollars.

The two trunk lines, which formed a "Y" shape linking to another pipe dating to the 1950s, were joined by a piece that had been welded using an outmoded and substandard technique, McDaniel said. The joiner appeared to have been "cobbled together" from leftover pieces from another job — "not the most professional type of installation," he told lawmakers.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/cityhall/la-me-pipe-rupture-20140807-story.html

[Spitfire of ATJ]

1. "dating to the 1950s"

Damn, I just replaced the water heater from '97. Those generally are considered to have a life of 16 years so I got two extra out of it before it sprung a leak.

50 - 60 years is the result of Republicans looting the Treasury to give tax cuts for the rich and defense contracts.

[Indydem]

2. How is that?

I'm not defending the bullshit the Republicans do at the federal level (looting the Treasury to give tax cuts for the rich and defense contracts).

But what does that have to do with a municipal water utility not maintaining their infrastructure?

Water pipes don't get paid through federal programs or dollars, that's all local, and it sounds like the local government in this case fucked up big time.

[melm00se]

3. Bingo

Ideologues see that all things are to be blamed on the other side.

it rains? republicans fault.
stubbed toe? republicans again.
hit every red light on the commute to work? damn republicans.

[packman]

4. AND---

If it doesn't rain, climate change which Republicans refute and refuse to acknowledge
Stub your toe - infection sets in, your state doesn't have ACA, you die
Hit every red light - Poor city, street planning due to budget cuts Repukes wanted, get what you
pay for.


Besides, Obama is too blame - not the Republcans.

[CreekDog]

6. do tell us not to blame Republicans for things

make sure we don't do that.

that would be all kinds of wrong right?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. ESPECIALLY on a political board....

I guess we should save that for a board about cooking.

[packman]

5. Agree with you it SHOULD be local

But, doesn't major projects like this - road building, pipes, electrical grids, etc. - get part of its funding from the feds?
This, and falling down bridges, is the canary in the mines. A harbinger of what is to come in America's interstructure. The bones and sinew that hold this country together is aching and needs relief. Time to stop spending on tanks we don't need, bombs sent to countries to kill other people they don't like, and planes that don't fly.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. It's one thing to maintain and it's another thing to replace the whole thing.

[alp227]

8. LA is not a Republican city,

except the one term with Richard Riordan as mayor

[Dreamer Tatum]

9. Being right on average does not preclude looking like an idiot at the margin

And anyone looking to hang a Los Angeles water main break on a political party is an idiot.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. It's like that steam pipe in NY....

Some infrastructure jobs are too big without federal funds and Republicans have claimed there hasn't been money for major public works as a part of their platform since FDR. Just like they claim there's no money for Social Security or Medicare or Unemployment Insurance or for school construction, or for the Veterans....

BTW: Ike doesn't count. He was a RINO.

[Dreamer Tatum]

12. So all water mains are now too large for municipalities to handle?

That's nonsense.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. What's so hard to understand that this stuff used to be routine?

We used to have major public works every 40 years. Under FDR they built schools and libraries and city halls. Even the Supreme Court got a building. They put in sewers and water mains and rural roads. Republicans at the time opposed ALL of it claiming, "We're broke!"

All that stuff is old now and needs to be replaced.

That's why I brought up the water heater as an example. It's just expected, planned for and budgeted no matter WHO is in office.

We need major bucks coming home to build a 21st century infrastructure.

[Dreamer Tatum]

15. Your premise on average may be slightly correct

but in practice, at the margin, it's bullshit.

I'm sorry, but the world is a complex place where things break and shit happens. If you want to live in one where everything bad that ever happens can be blamed on a political party, knock yourself out.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. I blame an ATTITUDE with Republicans that opposes it because it's part of their tradition.

[Dreamer Tatum]

17. My dear God, why didn't a Dem fix it in the DECADES since it was installed?

BECAUSE IT WASN'T FUCKING BROKEN.

Enjoy your world. It must be a magical place, where all problems and issues are solved with the simple phrase, "It's the GOP's fault!"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. I'll stop when the GOP jumps on the "Let's rebuild America" bandwagon.

[Dreamer Tatum]

19. Nice civic upkeep strategy you have there.

I'm not fixing shit in LA until the other party in Washington thinks I should.

You don't run anything important, I hope.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. Just this conversation. Which isn't.

[pinto]

27. It's not idiotic to look at the funding stream for infrastructure upkeep and refurbishing.

The funding is from federal, state and local sources. Political sources. Federal, state and local taxes, along with corporate mandated involvement, pay for projects.

I see your point. A local water main break. Yet, imo, it can also be seen as a local snapshot of our lack of attention to infrastructure.

To frame it in even more political terms - funding for infrastructure work creates jobs. And that's a big part of current political discussion, isn't it?

[PasadenaTrudy]

7. The pipe was from 1921

There are so many aging pipes. My brother is a plumber and he is called out to these water main ruptures on a daily basis. Yes, we are in SoCal.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. Seems to be getting common to read about another car falling into a sinkhole from a leak.

[pinto]

20. The Water Infrastructure Funding Gap (EPA)

The Water Infrastructure Funding Gap

In 2002, the U.S. EPA released the Clean Water and Drinking Water Gap Analysis. This report estimated that if investment in water and wastewater infrastructure does not increase to address anticipated needs, the funding gap over the next 20 years could grow to $122 billion for clean water capital costs and $102 billion for drinking water capital costs. There is also a funding gap for operation and maintenance, which was found to be $148 billion for clean water and $161 billion for drinking water. This points to a total gap of over $500 billion dollars.

Closing the gap is possible if utilities undertake the work that needs to be done to address aging infrastructure and if the public understands and supports the investments needed to ensure access to safe and clean water.

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/infrastructureneeds.cfm

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. "if the public understands and supports the investments needed"

They already do.

The problem is those who are supposed to be our employees think they're our boss.

[pinto]

24. I think Brown is working to fund projects here (CA). The US House (Republicans) - nada.

Infrastructure support is just one more example of the failure of Republicans in the House to actually fund and enact needed projects. The Federal funds start there.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. Right, and they want America to look like Detroit so America never votes for a black guy again.

[arcane1]

26. There have been a lot of water projects in my neighborhood in SF.

Lots of pipe-replacement and the new sidewalks and paving that goes with it

[pinto]

28. Same here. Some relatively dated pipe replacements here. Actually very dated.