Latest news with #LosAngelesDepartmentofWaterandPower
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
LADWP says substance causing ‘earthy odor' in drinking water is not harmful
Some residents in the San Fernando Valley have reported an 'earthy odor' coming from their drinking water, but officials say the cause of the smell is not harmful. In a statement issued Monday, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said they had received 'inquiries and reports' from some customers regarding the smell and that they began testing which revealed the 'musty' odor is attributable to Geosmin. Geosmin is a natural compound created from algae, LADWP explained. 'Geosmin can be a nuisance to our customers but it is not harmful,' officials said. 'It is an occasional and seasonal occurrence caused by changing water temperatures and sunlight.' Narco-terrorists charged with exchanging cocaine for weapons in war against Colombian government In Monday's statement, LADWP said it began increasing its water quality monitoring, sampling and testing through the Los Angeles Aqueduct System earlier this month. Elevated Geosmin levels were detected on May 13, and 'immediate adjustments' to treatment and operations were made to control the situation, LADWP said. Residents can remove the odor at home by running their water through a carbon filter pitcher or a carbon filter in their refrigerator water line, the department of water and power advised. Questions or concerns surrounding water quality should be directed to LADWP's Water Quality Hotline: 213-367-3182. While not harmful in drinking water, the American Chemical Society says Geosmin (C12H22O) can cause serious eye damage or irritation. Studies have shown that Yellow fever mosquitos (Aedes aegypti) are attracted to Geosmin, and the substance can be used as bait for mosquito traps. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Two California judges file suit against LADWP, saying utility failed to prepare, respond to fire
Two federal judges who lost their Pacific Palisades homes in the January firestorm have joined hundreds of their neighbors in suing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, claiming the utility failed to properly prepare for the wildfire and respond when it broke out. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson, who currently sits on the Central District of California's court, and Vijay "Jay" Gandhi, who served as a magistrate judge in the same court, filed the lawsuit last week along with their families. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the Palisades conflagration "was caused by both LADWP's water and power assets, specifically empty reservoirs and energized powerlines." The lawsuit cites reporting from The Times that found LADWP's Sana Ynez Reservoir, located in the Palisades, sat empty during the firefight, having been closed months prior for repairs. "Despite dire warnings by the National Weather Service of a 'Particularly Dangerous Condition-Red Flag Warning,' of 'critical fire weather' which had the potential for rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior, the LADWP was unprepared for the Palisades fire," the complaint said. A request for comment from L.A.-based law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, which was hired by LADWP to handle Palisades fire litigation, was not immediately answered. LADWP's most recent statement about pending litigation said it expects plaintiffs to continue to join such lawsuits, but it dismissed claims that the utility provider wasn't prepared and could be held responsible for the fire. "While our crews and system were prepared for situations that might strain the system, no urban water system is designed to combat a massive, wind-driven wildfire of the speed and scale presented by the historically destructive Palisades Fire," the statement said, an explanation that several experts have backed up. Read more: Holocaust survivor, ex-Navy pilot among seniors suing L.A. over Palisades fire damage The utility also said that "long settled law and precedent prevent water utilities, and their rate payers, from being liable for wildfire losses." The current and former federal judges who filed the suit as residents, not in any official capacity, disagree with that line of defense. One of the judges worked as a mediator in prior fire settlements between Pacific Gas & Electric and residents. 'The city must stand up and claim responsibility and do right by the residents of the Palisades. And that's why I joined this battle,' Gandhi, who worked as the mediator, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News. He called the Palisades fire a "manifestation of risks that were widely known but ignored. And the city needs to acknowledge that, because it can't happen again." The judges' lawsuit was recently consolidated with more than 10 other similar cases against LADWP, brought by more than 750 other residents, according to one of the attorneys working on the cases, Alexander Robertson. The long list of cases against the utility continue to pile up as homeowners seek compensation for damage they believe was caused by the utility's mismanagement of water resources or its power lines. The suit also alleges that most of LADWP power lines remained energized during the fire, causing "additional ignitions and fires in Pacific Palisades during a predicted Santa Ana wind event, ... [which] accelerated the rapid spread of the Palisades Fire," the complaint says. LADWP "knew about the significant risk wildfires posed in the event of ineffective infrastructure management, delayed repairs, unsafe equipment, and/or aging infrastructure decades before the Palisades Fire," the complaint said. It called the nearby reservoirs and electric lines public necessities, saying that "failure of one critical infrastructure can potentially have a domino effect." 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
29-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Two California judges file suit against LADWP, saying utility failed to prepare, respond to fire
Two federal judges who lost their Pacific Palisades homes in the January firestorm have joined hundreds of their neighbors in suing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, claiming the utility failed to properly prepare for the wildfire and respond when it broke out. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson, who currently sits on the Central District of California's court, and Vijay 'Jay' Gandhi, who served as a magistrate judge in the same court, filed the lawsuit last week along with their families. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the Palisades conflagration 'was caused by both LADWP's water and power assets, specifically empty reservoirs and energized powerlines.' The lawsuit cites reporting from The Times that found LADWP's Sana Ynez Reservoir, located in the Palisades, sat empty during the firefight, having been closed months prior for repairs. 'Despite dire warnings by the National Weather Service of a 'Particularly Dangerous Condition-Red Flag Warning,' of 'critical fire weather' which had the potential for rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior, the LADWP was unprepared for the Palisades fire,' the complaint said. A request for comment from L.A.-based law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, which was hired by LADWP to handle Palisades fire litigation, was not immediately answered. LADWP's most recent statement about pending litigation said it expects plaintiffs to continue to join such lawsuits, but it dismissed claims that the utility provider wasn't prepared and could be held responsible for the fire. 'While our crews and system were prepared for situations that might strain the system, no urban water system is designed to combat a massive, wind-driven wildfire of the speed and scale presented by the historically destructive Palisades Fire,' the statement said, an explanation that several experts have backed up. The utility also said that 'long settled law and precedent prevent water utilities, and their rate payers, from being liable for wildfire losses.' The current and former federal judges who filed the suit as residents, not in any official capacity, disagree with that line of defense. One of the judges worked as a mediator in prior fire settlements between Pacific Gas & Electric and residents. 'The city must stand up and claim responsibility and do right by the residents of the Palisades. And that's why I joined this battle,' Gandhi, who worked as the mediator, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News. He called the Palisades fire a 'manifestation of risks that were widely known but ignored. And the city needs to acknowledge that, because it can't happen again.' The judges' lawsuit was recently consolidated with more than 10 other similar cases against LADWP, brought by more than 750 other residents, according to one of the attorneys working on the cases, Alexander Robertson. The long list of cases against the utility continue to pile up as homeowners seek compensation for damage they believe was caused by the utility's mismanagement of water resources or its power lines. The suit also alleges that most of LADWP power lines remained energized during the fire, causing 'additional ignitions and fires in Pacific Palisades during a predicted Santa Ana wind event, ... [which] accelerated the rapid spread of the Palisades Fire,' the complaint says. LADWP 'knew about the significant risk wildfires posed in the event of ineffective infrastructure management, delayed repairs, unsafe equipment, and/or aging infrastructure decades before the Palisades Fire,' the complaint said. It called the nearby reservoirs and electric lines public necessities, saying that 'failure of one critical infrastructure can potentially have a domino effect.'
Bloomberg
28-03-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
LA City Utility Accused in Suit of Igniting Malibu-Area Blaze
The city of Los Angeles' electric and water utility faces a lawsuit claiming one of its toppled power lines ignited a wind-whipped blaze in January that devastated ultra-wealthy coastal neighborhoods in the second-largest US metropolis. The complaint filed by a group of property owners against Los Angeles Department of Water and Power appears to be first to allege that the public utility's equipment caused ignitions — following numerous other suits blaming LADWP for not supplying enough water to fight the Palisades Fire.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Lawsuit alleges DWP power lines played role in Palisades fire
A new lawsuit accuses the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power of deliberately covering up the role that downed power lines played in fueling the devastation wrought by the Palisades fire. A group of Palisades fire victims allege that an energized LADWP electrical tower started a second ignition when it was knocked down at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, approximately 12 hours after the fire began. Fanned by fearsome Santa Ana winds, flames in the surrounding brush quickly consumed homes in the Summit neighborhood and spread rapidly throughout the Palisades and Malibu, the complaint alleges. Plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the damages they suffered as a result of the fire. The lawsuit accuses the utility of deliberately concealing the harm it caused by telling the Washington Post in January that the line in question had been de-energized for the last five years. Last week, the attorneys representing the utility admitted to the plaintiffs' lawyers that the statement was inaccurate. "That statement was a result of a misunderstanding. The line had been de-energized for several years before the fire," said LADWP in a March 20 letter. "It was energized at the time the fire ignited." Although the utility called the statement a misunderstanding, attorneys called it a "massive cover-up" intended "to conceal from the public that its electrical equipment was the source of several additional ignitions of the Palisades Fire." In response to the lawsuit, the LADWP issued a new statement clarifying that, although the line was energized on the day of the fire, it was de-energized around 2:15 p.m. — hours before plaintiffs say it started a second ignition. The statement also points out that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which is investigating the Palisades fire, has not indicated that LADWP facilities were involved in the ignition of the Palisades fire. The ATF has yet to determine an official cause of the fire. Read more: What sparked the Palisades fire? A beloved hiking trail may hold the grim answers The Palisades fire started at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 7 along the Temescal Canyon Trail near Skull Rock in the Pacific Palisades, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It went on to burn 23,707 acres, destroy 6,837 structures and claim 12 lives. Sources familiar with ATF's investigation have said they believe the Palisades fire had human origins. Investigators are examining whether it could have reignited from the embers of a smaller blaze that occurred on Jan. 1 around the Skull Rock area. Although a Southern California Edison electrical tower is being probed as a possible cause of the Eaton fire in Altadena, the ATF has not said anything about electrical infrastructure being responsible for the devastation in the Palisades. Plaintiffs in the new lawsuit allege that downed power lines from a broken power pole were a second source of ignition above LADWP's Temescal water tank on the Temescal Canyon Trail at 10:30 p.m. The LADWP told attorneys that there were no faults — abnormal conditions in an electrical system that disrupt the flow of current — on the line around the time the fire ignited. However, photos included in the lawsuit show snapped wooden poles from the electrical tower and power lines scattered on the ground. Photos also show flames spreading around the area of the broken poles shortly after plaintiffs allege the lines started a second ignition. In addition to the downed power lines, plaintiffs say that the lack of water in the LADWP's Sana Ynez Reservoir is responsible for damage caused by the fire. Read more: This reservoir was built to save Pacific Palisades. It was empty when the flames came "On the day the Palisades Fire started, LADWP's Sana Ynez Reservoir had been empty of its 117-million-gallon capacity for approximately 11 months, thereby leaving Pacific Palisades with only 3-million gallons of total water storage," states the complaint. "This meant that Pacific Palisades only had 2.5% of its total water storage capacity available to fight the Palisades Fire." LADWP has already been hit with a deluge of lawsuits from homeowners seeking compensation for damage they allege was caused by the utility's mismanagement of water resources. Last month, the utility approved a three-year, $10-million contract with the L.A. firm Munger, Tolles & Olson to defend itself from Palisades fire litigation. 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.
