As the City of Los Angeles enters the second week of windstorm and fire response and recovery, LADWP crews continue to work around the clock in and around the Palisades area on repairing vital infrastructure needed to restore customers who are returning to their homes.
LADWP has approximately 8,500 customers who remain without power in the Pacific Palisades. These customers are located in or adjacent to fire damaged areas that LADWP crews cannot safely access or in areas where it is unsafe to re-energize power lines.
If you have been allowed to return to your home and find your power out but your immediate neighbors’ electricity is on, please check your circuit breaker. If power remains out on your street, LADWP crews are still working on assessing your power line and restoring service as quickly and safely as possible. Allowing power lines to be turned on before it is safe to do so can create a public safety hazard.
LADWP remains in close coordination with Unified Command led by CalFire and will continue working to restore power as clearance is received.
Additionally, water pressure to the Palisades area is fully restored and the three, one-million-gallon tanks serving the higher elevations are refilled and serving the community. LADWP also has 19 water tankers deployed to support fire-fighting efforts.
WATER QUALITY UPDATES AND NOTICE
A DO NOT DRINK NOTICE remains in effect for Pacific Palisades Zip Code 90272, and Adjacent Communities in the LADWP Service Area immediately south of the 90272-zip code that are north of San Vicente Blvd. Read Official Do Not Drink Notice.
An interactive map is available where LADWP customers can enter their address to check if they are in the Do Not Drink notice affected areas. Click to check Interactive Map App.
If your community is included in the Do Not Drink Notice area and you have questions about what are safe uses of tap water, click here.
Note that the Brentwood neighborhood is NOT included in the Do Not Drink Notice affected area. Since the wildfire began, LADWP has consistently performed water sampling and testing in the area and to date, the water continues to meet all drinking water standards in Brentwood. LADWP also has not detected any Benzene or any anomalies in volatile organic compounds or other contaminants associated with wildfires.
It is standard operating procedure for our team to sample water quality citywide, while intensifying the sampling and testing in the areas impacted by the Do Not Drink Advisory. We will provide timely updates to the public and residents of Council District 11 of any changes that would require an adjustment to water quality advisory boundaries.
LADWP Bottled Water Distribution Centers
For the most recent information on the Bottled Water Distribution for LADWP customers, visit ladwpnews.com/bottled-water-info.
Water Quality Testing and Customer Support
Outside of this emergency response, LADWP tests water quality locations daily throughout the city, including weekends and holidays. The rigorous monitoring program includes collection of over 25,000 samples annually, and it is the basis for LADWP’s operational assessments and regulatory reporting. Citywide water quality data remains within normal ranges and continues to meet all drinking water standards for areas not impacted by the Do Not Drink Notice.
Customers with water quality concerns can contact LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP
(1-800-342-5397) for referral to our Water Quality Customer Care Team. They offer free technical assistance and water quality testing to any customer in our service territory, landlord or tenant.
CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE
LADWP encourages any customer whose home or business has been damaged or destroyed as a result of the fires to call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397). Customer service representatives can assist with stopping billing, pausing automatic bill pay and assist with other account matters.
Changes have been made to the billing system to turn off bill reminders, late and disconnect notices in the 90272 Zip Code. If any customer receives such a notice, rest assured that they will not disconnect any service for nonpayment in the 90272 Zip Code area. If your home is uninhabitable and you receive a past-due or disconnect notice, please disregard.
CORRECTING MISINFORMATION ABOUT LADWP’S WATER SYSTEM
Any assertion that fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades were broken before the Palisades fire is misleading and false. LADWP works with LAFD, which is responsible for inspecting fire hydrants citywide. LADWP repaired every hydrant needing repairs as reported by LA Fire Department inspectors. LADWP’s fire hydrant repair list was current and updated, and all reported fire hydrants were fully operational in the Pacific Palisades and in L.A.’s Westside communities prior to the fire.
All LADWP pump stations remained operational during the fire, and water supply remained strong to the area. Water pressure in the system was lost due to unprecedented and extreme water demand to fight the wildfire without aerial support. This impacted our ability to refill the three water tanks supplying the Palisades. This impacted a low percentage of hydrants in the area, mostly in the higher elevations. As soon as LADWP identified the risk of losing water in the tanks and water pressure in the system, we immediately deployed potable water tankers to sustain support for firefighting efforts.
LADWP was required to take the Santa Ynez Reservoir out of service to meet safe drinking water regulations. To commission the support and resources to implement repairs to Santa Ynez, LADWP is subject to the city charter’s competitive bidding process which requires time.
The water system serving the Pacific Palisades area and all of Los Angeles meets all federal and state fire codes for urban development and housing. LADWP built the Pacific Palisades water system beyond the requirements to support the community’s typical needs. As we face the impacts of climate change and build climate resilience, we welcome a review and update of these codes and requirements if city water systems will be used to fight extreme wildfires. LADWP is initiating our own investigation about water resiliency and how we can enhance our posture to respond to the impacts of climate change.
Follow LADWP via X (@ladwp), on NextDoor and LADWP’s newsroom for the latest information and updates.
# # #