Water main break floods UCLA campus

[ASTalumna06]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ucla/13342473/

LOS ANGELES — A 93-year-old water main broke above the campus of the University of California-Los Angeles, sending a torrent raging through parking structures and athletic facilities.

No injuries were immediately reported from the flooding at UCLA, and many students used the occasion to go wading down steps that became waterfalls. Some broke out floats and were pulled through the accumulated water.

Some of the water reportedly may have damaged Pauley Pavilion, one of UCLA's athletic facilities, but many of the campus' other most famous buildings, such as Royce Hall and Powell Library, are perched well above the flooding.

Some crazy photos and video:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/austinhunt/ucla-gets-wet

[AZTheta]

And the first thought I had: oh NO, the drought. All that water wasted. Gah.

[LAblondeGPhi]

This is so sad - Pauley Pavilion was JUST renovated. I can't even imagine the scope of damage to the school. There are several low-lying areas on campus where I'm sure the water will need to be pumped out.

I was searching for information on Hilgard Avenue, where the sorority houses are located, and nothing mentions flooding there.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

And the first thought I had: oh NO, the drought. All that water wasted. Gah.

My thoughts exactly.

[DrPhil]

This sucks. The videos on the morning news made me gasp.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by LAblondeGPhi

This is so sad - Pauley Pavilion was JUST renovated. I can't even imagine the scope of damage to the school. There are several low-lying areas on campus where I'm sure the water will need to be pumped out.

I was searching for information on Hilgard Avenue, where the sorority houses are located, and nothing mentions flooding there.

I just read that the court in Pauley Pavilion is showing signs of buckling. Not good! At this point, they still don't know the extent of the damage.

[ChioLu]

Pauley Pavillion is about 3 blocks west of sorority row and about 3 blocks east of fraternity row. No reports of damage to any GLO housing.

I hope UCLA will be highly compensated by LA DWP (Los Angeles Dept of Water & Power) to RE-renovate Pauley Pavilion.

To top off this situation, California is in a drought.

[StealthMode]

Oh. Oh dear.

730 in the paking structure and HALF were completely submerged? I can't even imagine parking my car then coming back to find it like that!

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by Jen

I can't get over that it took them 4 hours to shut the water off. Why so long??

At a similar (non-California) emergency water main break event a few years ago, tv newscasters explained the available maps to locate shut-off valves for the water were not accurate and up-to-date. So, actually being able to locate and turn off the water source was a major problem. Perhaps this occurred near UCLA?

Even when responders know where and how to shut off the water, the force and volume of said water may overcome their ability to easily and promptly accomplish the task.

[LAblondeGPhi]

I read that there was concern about the pressure that would be placed on the rest of the system if the water was abruptly shut off - but I wouldn't be surprised if locating an appropriate shut-off valve was an issue, too.

During the drought of 2009-11(ish), the city mandated that sprinklers only be used on Mondays and Thursdays, which helped trigger an increase in water main breaks around the city. A report found that the swings in pressure on the city's aging pipes made them more susceptible to failure.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...ort-finds.html

[AZTheta]

News report: 20 million gallons "wasted" before it was shut off.