Mapping “Geysers” and “Sinkholes” in Los Angeles Area – How reliable are our pipelines?

Los Angeles Water Main Breaks (click this link to see the map)

Southern California Public Radio is mapping water main breaks in the Los Angeles area. Since Sept. 1, SCPR has reports from the Department of Water and Power of 124 water main breaks, averaging at least one break per day in September and October of 2009.

Water mains breaks in Los Angeles area
September-October 2009 (64 breaks)
November-December 2009 (23 breaks)
January-February 2010 (23 breaks)
March-April 2010 (7 breaks)
May-June 2010 (7 breaks)

http://cbs2.com/local/southern.California.water.2.1630963.html





http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glance/859739/firetruck-swallowed-by-sinkhole

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/05/universal-studios-water-main-break-spews-into-los-angeles-river.html

Follow there are few interesting quotes extracted from an article published by the Water Efficiency (Journal for Water Resource Management).
http://www.waterefficiency.net/july-august-2010/effective-pipe-solutions.aspx

“The widespread failure of water main pipelines in the US continues to make headlines and provide a focal point for worries about the country’s infrastructure problems.”

“The problem is that when you under price water, you tend to devalue the overall treatment by the public, and they tend to waste it. So, the utility doesn’t get enough revenue to keep the system repaired, and it breaks down. Then people value it even less, and when you get to the end of all this, the whole system can break down.”

“Further damage to public perception is in the sensationalistic headlines about the cost of fixing the nation’s infrastructure. “It needs to be a local issue.” We made a lot of mistakes by making water a trillion-dollar issue. That may be true, but it is the quickest way to inspire inaction because nobody can deal with a figure like a trillion. If we brought it down to a manageable local level, it would be different.”

“The truth is, water mains break for a variety of reasons all the time, everywhere.” “We are reaching the end of the useful life of many of these systems, and a lot of utilities haven’t been replacing them. If the proper maintenance isn’t done on a regular basis, it just gets bigger and bigger.

Is there a new break near you?
Visit http://www.scpr.org/in/questions/Crumbling