The 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir, which was almost empty when the Palisades Fire struck western Los Angeles in January, must be drained again after new cracks were found in the floating cover.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which operates the reservoir and is being sued for negligence by many local residents, confirmed that the reservoir, which was being fill
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Since early 2024, the reservoir had sat empty due to tears in the cover that floats across its surface. The reservoir was empty during the Jan. 7 Palisades fire, sparking anger from residents and prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to call for an investigation.
With repairs complete, crews with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power were refilling the reservoir last week when they discovered further tears and “pinhole sized leaks” in the floating cover.
As a result, DWP confirmed Wednesday that the reservoir will have to be drained, again, so that crews can fix the floating cover. DWP said they expected the repairs to take three to four weeks, with the reservoir now estimated to come back online by mid- to late June.
The reservoir was built in the 1960s after a wildfire destroyed 500 homes in nearby Bel Air. Ironically, it was empty when it was needed for its purpose.
Now, heading into the dry summer months, it will be empty again.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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