LOS ANGELES, CA – A water main break sent water rushing through the streets of Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood early Tuesday and forced the closure of part of Hoover Street, according to initial reports.
Emergency crews responded around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, to a flooded area outside Cafecito Organico on the 500 block of North Hoover Street. The water appeared to be coming up onto the sidewalks from an underground break that occurred about an hour earlier.
A portion of Hoover Street was closed at Clinton Street while crews worked at the scene.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the city’s water utility, is the agency that responds to water mains in this area. LADWP had not released a statement on the break in the information available Tuesday.
Water comes up onto sidewalks on Hoover Street
The flooding was centered on the 500 block of North Hoover Street, in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Crews were on scene at about 7:45 a.m., roughly an hour after the pipe is believed to have broken.
The water appeared to be rising from below and spreading onto the sidewalks, according to initial reports. From there it ran into the surrounding streets.
The break itself was underground, so the water reached the surface only after it worked up from the pipe below. Crews responded to the flooded area outside the business, where the water was visible on the sidewalk.
Hoover Street closed at Clinton Street
The closure covered a portion of Hoover Street at its intersection with Clinton Street. It sat on the same block where the flooding was reported.
The cause of the break and how long it would take to shut off the water had not been released. The same was true of when the street would reopen.
LADWP responds to water mains in the area
A water main is an underground pipe that carries water along a street to the smaller lines serving individual properties. In this part of Los Angeles, LADWP is the utility that responds when one of those mains breaks.
The utility publishes general information on breaks of this kind. Its page on recent water main breaks in the City of Los Angeles collects background on past incidents. That page is general in nature and does not describe the Silver Lake break.
LADWP also maintains a page of fast facts about trunk lines, mainlines and leaks in its water system. The page presents the utility’s own figures on its pipe network and on leaks. It is system-wide information and not specific to Hoover Street.
Repairs and reopening remain pending
The break happened about an hour before crews were reported on scene, and the street was closed at Clinton Street when the first reports described the flooding. LADWP had not announced how many customers were affected or when repairs would be complete.
The portion of Hoover Street at Clinton Street remained closed in the information available Tuesday morning.
