Metropolitan to Urgently Call on Portions of Los Angeles County to Suspend Outdoor Watering Ahead of Major Pipeline Shutdown Next Week

Four million residents and businesses fall under water-saving call Sept. 6-20 as Metropolitan fixes leak in Upper Feeder pipeline

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Metropolitan Water District of Southern California:

 

WHAT:	As it prepares to shut down and repair a critical pipeline that delivers Colorado River water into Southern California, Metropolitan Water District is urgently calling on 4 million people in portions of Los Angeles County to suspend outdoor watering from Sept. 6-20 to stretch severely limited water supplies. Metropolitan will share details of the repairs to be made, a timeline of the incident, and why such extensive conservation is necessary.
WHEN:	Tuesday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m.
WHERE:	The courtyard at Burbank Water and Power’s Ron E. Davis Eco Campus, 320 N. Lake St., Burbank. The event also will be streamed on YouTube and Facebook (not audio or video recording quality).
PARTICIPANTS:
	Metropolitan Board Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray; Metropolitan Board Director Marsha Ramos, Burbank’s Metropolitan representative; Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil; Burbank Water and Power General Manager Dawn Roth Lindell; Metropolitan Water System Operations Manager Brent Yamasaki; and Metropolitan Water Resource Specialist Krista Guerrero. A Spanish-speaking expert also will be available.
VISUALS:	Map of Los Angeles County areas affected by the shutdown, photos of the Upper Feeder and repair to be installed
BACKGROUND:
After discovering a leak in its Upper Feeder pipeline last spring, Metropolitan applied a temporary fix to address the issue and has been operating the pipeline at reduced capacity. Now Metropolitan must shut down the pipeline to conduct the long-term repair and is calling for areas served by the pipeline to cut outdoor watering as crews work around the clock to fix the issue.
Metropolitan’s member agencies under this urgent call include the cities of Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando, and Torrance, as well as Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District. Consumers under emergency conservation since June 1 will maintain the existing watering restrictions from their local agencies.
Residents and businesses who want to know more about how the shutdown will affect them should contact their water provider or email [e-mail]. Updates on the shutdown are available here.

Note to media: Photos and b-roll of the Upper Feeder pipeline are available here. Media is encouraged to use these resources, as the site will not be accessible to the public/media due to security concerns.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provides water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.