Pipe repair requires wide ban on LA County outdoor watering

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Water officials on Tuesday called on numerous communities in Los Angeles County to eliminate all outdoor watering for 15 days next month while a pipeline that brings Colorado River water to Southern California undergoes emergency repairs.

The ban affects homes and businesses in areas with about 4 million people and includes drip watering and hand watering, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a wholesaler to cities and local water districts.

The pipeline, called the Upper Feeder, will be shut down Sept. 6-20.

A leak was discovered in April and a temporary fix was put in place while Metropolitan fabricated parts for a longer-term repair.

The temporary allowed the pipeline to operate at reduced capacity over the summer, but it is not intended to last long-term, district general manager Adel Hagekhalil said during a press conference at a suburban Burbank Water and Power facility.

“We cannot delay this repair any further,” he said. “Doing so risks a failure and the potential for an unplanned, emergency situation.”

The district recommended that trees and shrubs be watered before Sept. 6 and then maintained with water collected from showers and sinks.

In addition to Burbank, the affected areas include the cities of Beverly Hills, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando, and Torrance, as well as Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District.

Outdoor watering is already widely limited in the region due to drought.