The Los Angeles Department of Public Works has restored water service to more than 9,000 San Fernando Valley residents after a valve failure caused taps to run dry or slow to a trickle last week.
According to the DWP, water flow to residents in the Granada Hills and Porter Ranch areas was restored as of 2:37 a.m. Monday. Residents however were told that a boil water notice would remain in effect for several more days.
The boil water notice instructs residents to only used boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes.
Customers “can now use tap water to take showers, flush toilets, water landscaping and other household and business needs. However, the Boil Water Notice remains in effect until LADWP completes its rigorous water quality testing,” read a DWP notice.
The problem arose on Tuesday, when a valve that controls the flow of water broke during repairs at a pump station that supplies a 10-million-gallon water tank.
The valve that broke was installed in 1967, officials said. It was stuck in a nearly closed position and could not be opened, which impeded the flow of water.
The work of reaching the valve 20 feet underground was complicated because, as workers dug to reach it, they encountered fiber-optic cable, a high-pressure gas line and an oil line.
While the work was underway, another problem occurred in one area of Granada Hills. DWP workers had installed two lines of hose-like temporary pipe to transport water from the Metropolitan Water District, the region’s water wholesaler, to a city pipe, and on Saturday one of those hoses popped off a connection and sent water shooting into a backyard in Granada Hills.
