A century-old water tunnel in the Valley will be restored to capture Sierra snowmelt

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is restoring an underground water tunnel in the San Fernando Valley that dates back to 1915—the same year that the Valley officially became part of the city of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports the tunnel is being refurbished to capture water runoff from the Sierras, which was inundated with snow this winter.

The tunnel is part of a larger system, called the Maclay Highline, that runs from “the L.A. Aqueduct Cascades in Sylmar to a group of meadows in Pacoima.”

Once restored, the tunnel will carry a significant amount of water—130 acre-feet a day—to the Pacoima Spreading Grounds, where it will filter down into the city aquifer and become drinking water. (One acre-foot can supply two households with water for a year.)

“We do have, on the books, a huge groundwater treatment system being constructed,” says Michael Grahek, manager of southern aqueduct and Owens Lake Operations and maintenance for LADWP. “This ties into that. We will have groundwater for years to come.”

Read the full story over at the Daily News.

• LA restores historic water tunnel to turn Sierra snow runoff into drinkable water [Daily News]
• California’s mountains are officially buried in snow [Curbed LA]
• Does LA Have Enough Water for the Next 25 Years? [Curbed LA]