is a producer for LAist, covering news and culture. He’s been an audio/web journalist for about a decade.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades was offline for repairs in January. Repair work is expected to be completed by May 2027.With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever.
Help keep the LAist newsroom strong,a state investigation into whether the reservoir being full of water would have made a difference fighting the deadly fire. After months of analysis, California agencies including the state’s EPA, Cal Fire and the Department of Water Resources issued aLA County proposes major cuts to homeless services for next year. What we know so far The spending plan would gut prevention, outreach and supportive services to maintain temporary shelter beds and absorb rate increases previously covered by other funding sources.Earlier mergers, like Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox, cut the number of films studios released theatrically — a troubling trend for theater owners already coping with consolidation and streaming.The report found that not even a full reservoir positioned uphill from the Palisades Fire could have maintained water pressure and stopped the unprecedented disaster. “The water system lost pressure, not due to a lack of water supply in the system, but because of an insufficient flow rate,” the report states. A reservoir perched at a high elevation, such as the Santa Ynez, can serve an important role in maintaining water pressure for hydrants throughout the system. As water gets used downhill, water from the reservoir flows to pressure towers. Because of gravity and limitation on flow rates, the pressure towers can't be refilled at the same pace as they are drained. Meanwhile, the reservoir dries up. In the case of the Palisades Fire, the report states, a full reservoir would have helped keep water pressure up for only a short time. The report noted that the exact data on the demand on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s system was missing.However, investigators found that based on experiences with other fires, the high demand across the system meant it was “unlikely that could have helped maintain pressure for very long.”The report found that the closure of the Santa Ynez Reservoir was in line with the primary purpose of L.A.’s water infrastructure: maintaining a clean drinking water supply. The reservoir repairs were prompted by a damaged cover. The repairs, the report notes, were required by federal and state laws on drinking water safety. “This report confirms what we and others have been saying more broadly regarding water system expectations and capabilities, but does so completely independently and with new details specific to the L.A. fires,” Greg Pierce, the director of UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, said in an email to LAist.Fact check: What really happened with the Pacific Palisades hydrants? Why did hydrants run dry in the midst of a conflagration? City officials stressed that the shortage was due to low water pressure, not a complete lack of water. But what caused it, and can it be prevented?The state stopped short of recommending any changes to L.A.’s municipal infrastructure. Water experts like Pierce say massive amounts of water and a very expensive redesign of L.A.’s water system would be needed to keep fire hydrants working during large urban conflagrations.from the Fire Safety Research Institute about the timeline leading up to and during the January firestorm. That report, which was commissioned by the California governor's office, contains a detailed account of the Palisades and Eaton fires' progressions and emergency services' responses on Jan. 7 and 8. As for the Santa Ynez Reservoir, the repairs to fix its broken cover and make it usable again are slated to begin in June and finish by May 2027.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else.Explore LA
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