A 6″ cast iron residential water main line capable of carrying up to 1,100-1,700 gallons per minute (roughly 66,000 gallons an hour) ruptured earlier today (12:30pm) near the Venice Canals. The line was shut off by 2pm.
All pictures by Ray Rae!
LAFD is still on scene pumping about a foot of water out of one apartment building, but relate that they do not believe the structure has been damaged. A Volkswagen based replica of a Porsche Speedster seemed to be the greatest casualty of the day, although mold issues at affected properties may be a real issue.
Many of the water lines in Los Angeles date back to the 1920’s, originally put in place under the direction of William Mulholland, who engineered the gravity fed aqueduct system that brings us water from the Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The nearly 100 year old water system has 7,200 miles of underground pipe which distributes 600 million gallons of water each day.
