Hollywood got another unwanted soak on Friday afternoon when a water main ruptured and sent water gushing across Romaine Street near North Wilton Place. Traffic bogged down around Paramount Studios and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery as firefighters shut the block to drivers. Responders at the scene reported no immediate injuries or major property damage. The break hit while crews were still finishing repairs from last week’s massive Sunset Boulevard rupture in West Hollywood, leaving nearby residents and business owners more than a little on edge.
What happened
The rupture was reported around 3 p.m. on Romaine Street at North Wilton Place, about two blocks east of Hollywood Forever, and utility crews raced to shut off the line while the Los Angeles Fire Department blocked access, according to KTLA. Video shared on the Citizen app showed water spilling into the street and rushing through gutters, and officials used those images to help zero in on the exact location of the rupture. Crews started pumping and diverting water from storm drains while engineers examined the pipe to determine what went wrong.
Repairs and the larger West Hollywood rupture
This latest incident unfolded while LADWP crews continued emergency work on a far larger 36-inch trunk-line failure on Sunset Boulevard that flooded parts of West Hollywood and opened a sinkhole. The utility said crews were cutting out the damaged 25-foot section, welding in a replacement, and then running pressure and water-quality tests before backfilling the site and repaving the roadway. LADWP also noted that the damaged trunk line dates to 1916 and that the agency is speeding up long-term replacement plans for aging transmission pipes.
Not an isolated problem
Local reporting and city officials say a handful of smaller main breaks have popped up across Los Angeles this month, with most involving older cast-iron distribution pipes rather than the bigger trunk lines, according to ABC7. The outlet quoted utility spokespeople saying the city averages two to four breaks a day even in normal operation and that crews have been accelerating pipeline replacements. Experts say clustered failures like the recent ones can be coincidental, but they still highlight just how old much of Los Angeles’ underground infrastructure really is.
What residents should do
Officials are urging residents to steer clear of flooded blocks while crews work and to call 1-800-DIAL-DWP to report leaks or submit damage claims. LADWP set up on-site claims staff during last week’s West Hollywood incident, and similar help may be offered if this latest break leads to damage. For updates, road-closure maps, and claims instructions, residents are being directed to the LADWP news site and local city pages while crews finish pumping out water and repairing the lines. If you spot standing water inside buildings or notice what looks like a compromised foundation, officials say you should call emergency services and document everything with photos for insurance or LADWP claims.
Still a worry for businesses
Although Friday’s rupture appeared smaller than the trunk-line failure on Sunset, the back-to-back incidents have already forced some businesses to close temporarily and left others nervously waiting on insurance and claims processes, Los Angeles Times reported. City crews and utilities say they are coordinating schedules and street closures in an effort to limit repeat disruptions as repair work moves forward at multiple sites.
