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CBS News
7 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
LADWP lifts boil water notice for Granada Hills and Porter Ranch
After a nearly week-long boil water notice, residents of Granada Hills and Porter Ranch can use their taps again. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power lifted the advisory issued to more than 9,000 customers on Tuesday, but strongly urged residents to flush their pipes using their tap water. The agency recommended people turn on all of their faucets one by one for five minutes each to let the old water out. LADWP customers impacted by the boil water notice will receive a $20 credit for flushing out their pipes. Officials provided the following instructions to flush the water supply adequately: Remove aerators and screens from all faucets. Set water-softening devices and filters, both point-of-use and whole-house, to "bypass mode." Flush outside plumbing: open and flush external hose bibs/faucets for about 5 minutes or until water is clear and temperature is constant. Flush cold water: run all cold water faucets on the property beginning with the faucet closest to the water line. Run the water at the highest flow (or fully open) for 5 minutes or until the water is clear and the temperature is constant. Then turn off all faucets in reverse order. Flush hot water: drain your hot water tank to discharge any accumulated sediments. Wait for the hot water tank to refill then run all hot water faucets on the property beginning with the faucet closest to the water line. Let all faucets run at the highest flow (or fully open) for 5 minutes. Then turn off all faucets in reverse order. Flush all toilets: a one-time flush should suffice. Automatic Ice Makers: dump existing ice and flush the water feed lines by making and discarding three batches of ice cubes. Wipe down the ice bin with a disinfectant. Clean and disinfect aerators and screens: prepare a 20% liquid chlorine bleach solution by adding 1 cup of laundry bleach to 4 cups of water. Place aerators in solution for no more than 5 minutes (any longer may cause damage to aerator) then briefly rinse with clean water and reattach to faucets, shower heads, and fixtures. Flush appliances: run an empty dishwasher and washing machine once on the rinse cycle. Flush the water dispenser on the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Replace all filters and reset all water devices from "bypass mode." This applies especially to carbon filters and others that are near the end of their life. Reverse Osmosis (RO) units: Replace pre-filters, refer to the owner's manual for specific guidance. Water softeners: Run through a regeneration cycle. Last Wednesday, a malfunctioning valve forced LADWP to shut off the water supply for more than 9,000 customers in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch amid triple-digit temperatures. At the time, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory in Southern California, forecasting temperatures in the San Fernando Valley to reach 10 to 12 degrees above normal. Construction crews spent the following six days conducting emergency repairs on the distribution system, while LADWP distributed pallets of bottled water to residents. While repairs restored service early Monday morning, LADWP kept the boil advisory in place until test results ensured the water supply was safe to drink. LADWP stated that it distributed 2.5 million bottles and over 7,000 gallons of water to residents by the time it lifted the boil water notice on Tuesday. The utilities company closed all bottled and recycled water distribution centers on Tuesday after sending the water quality results to the California Division of Drinking Water. Anyone with questions about water quality can visit or call LADWP at (213) 367-3182 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. or 1-800-DIAL-DWP for 24-hour assistance.
CBS News
10-08-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Water outage in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch expected to last through weekend as repair work continues
Thousands of San Fernando Valley residents were expected to remain without water through the weekend days after their service was first interrupted on Tuesday. The outage is affecting more than 9,200 Department of Water and Power customers living in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch, leaving them entirely without water after crews found a water valve that would not open while doing emergency repair work at a pump station that connects to a 10-million-gallon water tank. On Saturday, LADWP said that crews had to excavate nearly 25 feet underground to access the damaged valve for repairs. "The water disruption stems from a deeply buried broken valve on a major 54-inch diameter water pipeline that supplies the Susana Tank serving the area, with approximately 104 miles of water system pipes serving 9,200 customers impacted by the incident," LADWP officials said in a statement shared Saturday morning. "The repair site is located near critical infrastructure — including oil pipelines, a fiber optic line, and a gas line. The complexity of the operation has now necessitated additional excavation to widen the trench. Repairs are expected to continue through the weekend." As the repair work continues, crews also urged customers to completely stop running their tap water if it does work, because it's hampering the speed of their efforts. During a press conference on Saturday afternoon, LADWP officials said that high water consumption has delayed repairs by at least 48 hours, pushing their targeted restoration time to 3 a.m. on Monday morning, depending on people's actions at home. They said that running a working tap, even in the midst of the outage, will decrease the level in the tank that crews are working to re-pressurize. Originally, repair crews were aiming at completing work by Friday night. In the meantime, residents are asked to use bottled water for drinking and cooking and to keep all indoor and outdoor taps closed. People are asked to refrain from doing laundry and dishes and to turn off their sprinkler systems and swimming pool automatic fill systems. "We need you to boil your water," LADWP Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said last week. "After we lost pressure, we could introduce contaminants into our distribution system. Even if you have water in this zone, we ask you to boil the water if you are going to use it to drink, cook, make ice, prepare food or brush your teeth." While the outage continues, LADWP officials have offered a number of service sites for customers affected by the outage. They can be found at the following locations from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day: They also opened two new centers over the weekend, which are open from 5 a.m to 10 p.m., they are located at: The water outage occurred in the midst of one of the year's worst heat waves, which brought triple-digit temperatures to much of Los Angeles County. LADWP crews continued to pass out free cases of bottled water to residents through Saturday afternoon. During Saturday's press conference, Mayor Karen Bass reassured residents that Los Angeles Fire Department crews were on standby for any emergency that may arise. She urged anyone with questions to call 1-800-DIAL DWP (1-800-342-5397) for 24-hour assistance. Residents may also contact the State Water Resources Control Board District Office at (818) 551-2004.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. City Council backs huge trash fee hikes for residents
The Los Angeles City Council moved Friday to dramatically increase trash fees in a bid to raise money and close a billion-dollar budget deficit. On a 10-1 vote, the council ordered city attorneys to draft an ordinance raising the fees on roughly 740,000 customers, with council members arguing that the city has subsidized the cost of trash pickup for too many years. Owners of single-family homes and duplexes will see their trash fees more than double in the coming budget year, reaching $55.95, up from $36.32. Fees for smaller apartment buildings — those with three or four units — will be increased to $55.95, up from $24.33, with each unit paying the full fee. The trash fees will rise each year through 2029, hitting $65.93 for all categories. For single-family homes and duplexes, that would represent an 81% increase over this year. For buildings with three or four units, the fee for each unit would nearly triple. On residents' bimonthly bills from the Department of Water and Power, the increases will show up under the line item 'Solid Resource Fee.' Read more: Huge trash fee hike looms for L.A. residents Larger apartment buildings would not be covered by the planned trash fee hikes. Residents can seek to overturn the fees. Proposition 218, passed by California voters in 1996, requires that property owners be mailed information about the proposed fees and that a hearing be held at least 45 days after the mailing. The fee fails if a majority of owners send in written protests. Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, said landlords will likely pass the fee increase on to tenants who renew a lease or sign a new lease. He expressed concern about the regressive nature of the fee, which will disproportionately hurt low-income residents, since they will pay the same amount as wealthier residents. Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who represents the eastern San Fernando Valley, expressed a similar concern at Friday's City Council meeting as he cast the lone "no" vote. He pointed out the dramatic increase that residents of a four-unit building will see in the first year. "That unit is going to pay as much as a home in the wealthiest parts of the city," he said. Councilmembers John Lee, Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla were absent from Friday's vote. City leaders said that a program to help low-income residents afford the fees will be expanded, also pointing out that the last trash fee increase was 17 years ago. Without the fee hike, the general fund would lose about $200 million in the next budget year, since the city has been partly subsidizing trash pickup, according to city officials. The fee increase is planned as the city faces a nearly $1-billion budget shortfall and the potential elimination of thousands of city jobs. Mayor Karen Bass is scheduled to release her proposed budget, and her plan for closing the financial gap, later this month. Part of the shortfall is due to labor costs and recent pay increases for some workers, including for police officers and firefighters, that were approved by Bass and the council. Read more: L.A. city budget shortfall grows to nearly $1 billion, with layoffs 'nearly inevitable' The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. on Friday blasted the trash fee hike and accused Bass and the City Council of mismanagement through overspending, "unaffordable" labor contracts and "policies that have driven businesses out of the city, resulting in lower business tax and sales tax revenue." 'The mayor and City Council may want taxpayers to bail out Los Angeles, but it's more likely that taxpayers will bail out of Los Angeles,' the association said. Several Bureau of Sanitation employees spoke in support of the fee at Friday's City Council meeting. Charles Leone, a coordinator with Service Employees International Union 721, which represents sanitation workers, told the council that the fee should have gone up "decades ago" and described the hard work that goes into picking up the trash. "They took on the homeless crisis — head on, they take out the trash every single day, they lift up the mattresses every single day, they address the couches every single day, the list goes on and on," he said. The council last year raised sewer fees for all property owners. Landlords who own units that are rent-stabilized — the vast majority of units in the city — typically can't pass on water costs, which are linked to sewer costs, to their tenants, according to city officials. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. City Council backs huge trash fee hikes for residents
The Los Angeles City Council moved Friday to dramatically hike trash fees in a bid to raise money and close a billion dollar budget deficit. On a 10 to 1 vote, the council ordered city attorneys to draft an ordinance raising the fees on roughly 740,000 customers, with councilmembers arguing that the city has subsidized the cost of trash pickup for too many years. Owners of single-family homes and duplexes will see their trash fees more than double in the coming budget year, reaching $55.95, up from $36.32. Fees for smaller apartment buildings — those with three or four units — will be increased to $55.95, up from $24.33, with each unit paying the full fee. The trash fees will rise each year through 2029, hitting $65.93 for all categories. For single-family homes and duplexes, that would represent an 81% increase over this year. For buildings with three or four units, the fee for each unit would nearly triple. On residents' bimonthly bills from the Department of Water and Power, the increases will show up under the line item 'Solid Resource Fee.' Larger apartment buildings would not be covered by the planned trash fee hikes. Residents can seek to overturn the fees. Proposition 218, passed by California voters in 1996, requires that property owners be mailed information about the proposed fees and that a hearing be held at least 45 days after the mailing. The fee fails if a majority of owners send in written protests. Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, said that in L.A., landlords will likely pass on the fee increase to tenants who renew a lease or sign a new lease. He expressed concern about the regressive nature of the fee, which will disproportionately hurt low-income residents, since they will pay the same amount as wealthier residents. City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who represents the eastern San Fernando Valley, expressed a similar concern at Friday's City Council meeting as he cast the lone 'no' vote. He pointed out the dramatic hike that residents of a four-unit building will see in the first year. 'That unit is going to pay as much as a home in the wealthiest parts of the city,' he said. Councilmembers John Lee, Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla were absent from Friday's vote. City leaders said that a program to help low-income residents afford the fees will be expanded, also arguing that the last trash fee increase was 17 years ago. Without the fee hike, the general fund would lose about $200 million in the next budget year, since the city has been partially subsidizing trash pickup, according to city officials. The fee increase is planned as the city faces a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall and the potential elimination of thousands of city jobs. Mayor Karen Bass is scheduled to release her proposed budget, and her plan for closing the financial gap, later this month. Part of the shortfall is due to labor costs and recent pay increases for some workers, including for police officers and firefighters, that were approved by Bass and the council. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. on Friday blasted the trash fee hike and accused Bass and the City Council of mismanagement through overspending, 'unaffordable' labor contracts and 'policies that have driven businesses out of the city, resulting in lower business tax and sales tax revenue.' 'The mayor and City Council may want taxpayers to bail out Los Angeles, but it's more likely that taxpayers will bail out of Los Angeles,' the association said. Several Bureau of Sanitation employees spoke in support of the fee at Friday's City Council meeting. Charles Leone, a coordinator with Service Employees International Union 721, which represents sanitation workers, told the council that the fee should have gone up 'decades ago' and described the hard work that goes into picking up the trash. 'They took on the homeless crisis — head on, they take out the trash every single day, they lift up the mattresses every single day, they address the couches every single day, the list goes on and on,' he said. The council last year raised sewer fees for all property owners. Landlords who own units that are rent-stabilized — the vast majority of units in the city — typically can't pass on water costs, which are linked to sewer costs, to their tenants, according to city officials.
