Ah, memories of last summer. Pitbull's "Hotel Room Service" was top of the charts and geysers were exploding all over the city. If some people didn't believe the city was actually seeing more water main breaks, KPCC is reporting a new USC study has an answer as to why there were breaks at all. As originally suspected, the city's cast iron pipes couldn't handle the water conservation program. Via KPCC:
"The water rationing system in the city of Los Angeles, which limited outdoor watering to Mondays and Thursdays, contributed to a rash of water main breaks in the summer of 2009. That's the conclusion of an independent team led by a USC engineer who reported to the Environment and Energy Committee of the Los Angeles City Council. USC's Jean-Pierre Bardet said "pipes weren't able to handle large variations in pressure caused by dramatically different use Monday and Thursday as compared with the other days of the week." Meanwhile, the DWP has released a statement, but as KPCC notes, that statement indicates nobody at the DWP has read the report yet. And many of the homeowners have settled with the city in terms of property damage, although there's still some angry constituents in City Councilman Paul Koretz's district, according to KPCC.
· LA's water rationing blamed in water main blowouts last summer, consultant says [KPCC]
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