All inevitable Los Angeles-inspired 'pee on the sidewalks' jokes aside, this is the sort of thing that is pretty terrifying.
A 100-year-old, 36-inch water main under storied Sunset Boulevard ruptured very early this morning.
LADWP crews are working on repairs to the large 36-inch water pipe break in West Hollywood reported at 3:55 a.m. today. Details in our 11AM update: https://t.co/xOJlCN2mWY pic.twitter.com/YapxMRh7f9
— LADWP (@LADWP) July 16, 2026
I can't imagine how insane the traffic had to be after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had to immediately start rerouting due to street closures.
... Traffic closures are in effect on Sunset Blvd. between Larabee Street and LaCienega Blvd., as well as nearby streets for public safety. For information on impacted Metro bus routes visit https://alerts.metro.net/. There are also sidewalk closures due to broken sidewalks and pavement. The public is advised to stay away due to safety hazards.
... At approximately 3:55 AM, LADWP received notification of the water incident. Water crews immediately mobilized and began systematically shutting down large underground valves to stop water flow without causing further damage. The ruptured pipe was a 1916 36-inch riveted steel pipe. LADWP crews are removing water from the area of the damaged pipe to assess the extent of the damage. Once the assessment is complete we will better understand the complexity of repairs needed to restore flow to the pipe.
And holy moly - someone call Noah. I hope to God no homeless folks sleeping on those vile sidewalks got washed away.
BREAKING: A massive water main break floods streets in West Hollywood, turning roads into rivers as Los Angeles County firefighters respond.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 16, 2026
Multiple streets, including parts of Santa Monica Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, are closed, and the cause remains under investigation. pic.twitter.com/pq2vTzrXyv
Someone trying to wade through the water was caught nearly being swept away by one of the news helos.
Hours later, LADWP looks like they had gotten most, if not all, of the water cut off, but now they have a massive sinkhole to deal with and a ginormous amount of damage to the pavement on the streets, not to mention you have to wonder about some of the building foundations - were they undercut at all when that torrent was rushing through?
#BreakingNews: Sunset Boulevard is closed indefinitely in West Hollywood after a massive, 100-year-old water main ruptured early Thursday morning, creating a large sinkhole directly under the traffic light at Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive. pic.twitter.com/yieGkrTQII
— KTLA (@KTLA) July 16, 2026
There's another problem besides the traffic detours - the Metro bus lines depot was flooded, and critically important city buses were partially submerged.
So, I live in a city where we still have colonial-era wooden pipes in the system being discovered as our water and sewer authority takes on the slow, painful, expensive, and - here's the kicker - federally mandated refurbishment of Pensacola's ancient infrastructure. The clock's ticking on us to get it done, or the feds do it and charge us for it.
I realize Los Angeles dwarfs us by a factor of 10,000 or more, but it seems to me this is one of the things that Spencer Pratt had been highlighting - the lack of money and focus on infrastructure instead of ritzy homeless housing and pet projects.
It's also sort of the bow on the Los Angeles stink bomb that Pratt's election was stolen, and the woman formerly in charge of the LADWP at a salary of $750,000 a year lit out to take over Puerto Rico's failing electric company shortly after a judge ruled her department could be found liable for those reservoirs being dry during the devastating fires two years ago.
Just weeks after a Los Angeles judge ruled that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) could be held liable for the catastrophic water system failure and aging electrical infrastructure that fueled the Palisades Fire, the utility’s CEO and chief engineer is stepping down, announcing her return to her home island of Puerto Rico.
Mayor Karen Bass announced Wednesday that Janisse Quiñones, who oversees the city’s electric grid and water supply, will step down effective March 27 as part of what the mayor described as a “planned transition.”
Critics, however, suggested the timing was more than coincidental, calling it “suspicious” and labeling her sudden departure a “dereliction of duty.”
Plaintiffs' lawyers pointed a finger directly at Janisse Quiñones...
...The ruling also highlighted claims that LADWP knowingly designed a water system that could fail if its primary reservoir was offline. At the time of the fires, the 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades had been drained for repairs — a decision plaintiffs argue contributed to the system being overwhelmed.
“The buck stops with her,” Robertson said. “She was chief engineer. The reservoirs should have been repaired in weeks, not months.”
...who, with her aversion to responsibility, accountability, and big salary, should be perfectly at home in Puerto Rico, if you get my drift.
In the meantime, there's Los Angeles today, awash in that precious resource as if it were monsoon season. Yes, this was running down the street instead of into the ocean, but it's all wasted.
A massive sinkhole opened up on a West Hollywood sidewalk following a water main break that has flooded the streets of the area. A witness told KTLA 5's @AnnieRoseNews that two men fell into that sinkhole moments earlier. pic.twitter.com/8XeMcd51hv
— KTLA (@KTLA) July 16, 2026
Ah, the land of coulda, shoulda, woulda.
Look at the bright side...at least this is one day where you won't have to smell human pee on the sidewalks! https://t.co/IUGZpZskK1
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) July 16, 2026
Wasted.
I'm sure Mayor Bass will get right on it.
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