September 2014, Vol. 69, No. 9
Rehabilitation
Gushing Water Main Floods UCLA Campus
On July 29, a major water main ruptured underneath a street near the University of California, LA, unleashing a 20-foot-tall geyser that flooded part of the campus and stranded motorists on surrounding streets, according to several online reports.
The 93-year old, 30-inch water main burst sending an estimated 8 million gallons of water across UCLA’s athletic facilities including Pauley Pavilion, Wooden Center and the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Several feet of water also collected in a parking lot on the UCLA campus.
No injuries were reported from the flooding at UCLA, and many students used the occasion to wade down steps that became waterfalls.
Some of the water poured onto the basketball court and flooded the locker rooms at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA’s iconic athletic facility that recently underwent a $132 million renovation.
The Wooden Center, which has training facilities for students, and the J.D. Morgan Center, which houses the school’s sports trophies, Hall of Fame and athletics offices, also were damaged.
But many of the campus’ other most famous buildings, such as Royce Hall and Powell Library, are perched well above the flooding.
Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jamie Moore told NBC4-TV that crews tried to divert up to two feet of water that raced into parking structures into storm drains. Swift-water rescue teams were dispatched, but no rescues were reported.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted that the broken line dated to 1921.
Jim McDaniel, with the Department of Water and Power, said there was no “magic technology” to determine when a new line is needed, and the city is on a replacement cycle of over 300 years for main lines.
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